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M  R.  Dunn 


CHINESE  COLLECTION. 


Henry  Byron  Phillips 


rr 


=".] 


PEEP    AT    CHINA, 


m 


MR.  DUNN'S   CHINESE   COLLECTION. 


lERKELEY,  CALIFORNIA 


mi^. 


THIS     BOOK 

WAS   SOLD  TO 

HENRV     BVRON     PHILLIPS 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/chinapeepatinmrdOOwinerich 


PEEP    AT    CHINA, 


MR.  DUNN'S  CHINESE  COLLECTION; 


WITH 


MISCELLANEOUS    NOTICES 


RELATING  TO  THE 


INSTITUTIONS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  CHINESE, 


COMMERCIAL  INTERCOURSE  WITH  THEM. 


BIT   E.    C.   WIITES. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PRINTED    FOR     NATHAN    DUNN. 

1839. 


■'M 


^5.>^ 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1839,  by 
NATHAN    DUNN, 
in  the  Clerk*s  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  and  for  the 
Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


I.  AflRMEAD  AND  CO.,  PRINTER*. 


CONTENTS. 


Fag8 

I.     Preliminary  Remarks,  ----..  9 

II.     General  Viev/  of  the  Interior  of  the  Saloon,    -          -  15 

III.  The  two  Octagonal  Glass  Cases,  .....  16 

IV.  Lamps  and  Lanterns, 19 

V.     The  Screen-work  at  the  entrance,  -         -         -    .     21 

VI.     Picture  of  Canton, 82 

VII.     Picture  of  Whampoa,  -----         .  25 

VIII.     Picture  of  Honan, 26 

IX.     The  first  Case  on  the  north  wall,  with  the  two  Cases 

opposite,        .......  27 

X.     The  second  Wall  Case, 31 

XI.     Third  Wall  Case, 34 

XII.     Fourth  Wall  Case,  with  the  two  opposite,        -         .  39 

Xm.     Fifth  Wall  Case, .  44 

XIV.     Three  Cases  in  the  inter-columniations,  containing 

Ornamental  Articles, 46 

XV.     Sixth  Wall  Case, 49 

XVI.     Seventh  Wall  Case,  with  the  smaller  Cases  opposite,  52 

XVII.  The  Silk  Mercer's  Shop, 55 

XVIII.  A  Street,  with  Sedan  and  Bearers,         ...  58 
XIX.     The  Pavilion, 59 

XX.     The  room  in  the  south-east  corner  of  the  Saloon,   ■  62 
XXI.     First  Wall  Case  on  the  south  side,  with  the  two 

opposite  Cases, 65 


593fif» 


VI 


Page 

XXII.  Second  Wall  Case  on  the  south  side,  with   the  two 

opposite  Cases,       ......  68 

XXIII.  The  Cases  containing  Porcelain  Articles,        -         -  69 

XXIV.  The  Export  Case, 72 

XXV.     Fifth  Wall  Case  on  the  south  side,         ...  74 

XXVI.     Two  Wall  Cases  containing  Models  of  Boats,          -  74 

XXVII.     Three  Natural  History  Cases,      ...         -  76 

XXVIII.     Picture  of  Macao, 77 

XXIX.     Picture  of  the  Bocca  Tigris,          ....  78 

XXX.     Picture  of  a  Marriage  Procession,          .         .  78 

XXXI.     The  other  Paintings  in  the  Collection,    ...  80 

XXXII.     Thetwoinner  Rows  of  Cases,      ....  83 

XXXIII.  General  Remarks  on  the  Government  and  People  of 

China, 84 

XXXIV.  Our  Trade  with  China, 97 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


The  author  of  these  sheets  has  never  been  in  China, 
and  yet  he  has  attempted,  to  some  extent,  a  development 
of  Chinese  character  and  customs.  It  is  a  fair  claim  on 
the  part  of  the  reader  that  he  be  informed  of  the  degree 
of  credibility  that  attaches  to  the  statements  made.  With 
the  view  solely  of  satisfying  this  claim,  he  takes  leave  to 
say,  that  numerous  works  on  China,  of  the  highest  re- 
pute, have  been  fully  consulted,  and  the  truth  carefully 
sought. 

The  author  acknowledges  also  his  indebtedness  to  Mr. 
Dunn  for  much  original  information,  and  the  correction 
of  some  errors,  into  which  he  had  been  led  by  the  autho- 
rities on  whose  guidance  he  was  obliged  to  rely.  The 
Collection  itself  has  been  as  a  well  spring  of  instruction. 
It  is  due  to  the  Proprietor  to  state,  that  he  objected  to 
the  few  sentences  complimentary  to  himself;  but  the 
author,  being  a  thorough-paced  opponent  to  the  ''  ex- 
punging" doctrine,  insisted  on  their  being  retained. 
This  he  considered  as  a  mere  act  of  justice ;  for  he  is 
free  to  express  the  opinion,  that  Mr.  Dunn,  in  the  Col- 
lection he  has  made  and  now  offers  to  public  examination, 
has  done  more  than  any  other  man  to  rectify  prevalent 


vni 


errors,  and  disseminate  true  information;  concerning  a 
nation,  every  way  worthy  to  be  studied  by  the  philoso- 
pher who  delights  in  the  curious,  by  the  economist  who 
searches  into  the  principles  of  national  prosperity  and 
stability,  and  by  the  Christian  who  desires  the  universal 
spread  of  that  Gospel,  in  which  are  embarked  the  highest 
temporal  welfare  and  the  immortal  hopes  of  the  human 
race. 

By  some  the  following  pages  may  be  regarded  as  an 
"  Apology  for  the  Chinese  ;'^  but,  unless  the  author's 
convictions  are  entirely  erroneous,  it  is  no  more  an  apo- 
logy, than  truth  and  justice  make  it. 

Philadelphia^  April,  1839. 


DESCRIPTIVE    SKETCH 


OF    THE    COLLECTION. 


I.     Preliminary  Remarks, 

Nathan  Dunn,  Esq.,  tlie  proprietor  of  this  vast  and 
splendid  Collection  of  Chinese  Curiosities,  having  so  far 
completed  his  arrangements  as  to  be  able  to  open  it  to  the 
public,  on  the  evening  of  Saturday,  the  22d  December, 
1838,  entertained  a  select  party  of  his  friends  in  the 
Saloon  in  which  it  is  fitted  up.  We  should  think  that 
considerably  over  a  hundred  gentlemen  were  present 
upon  that  occasion,  and  among  them  were  many  of  our 
most  eminent  citizens.  Artists,  merchants,  mechanics, 
editors,  literati,  military  and  naval  oflicers,  and  a  goodly 
representation  from  all  the  learned  professions,  graced 
that  ample  and  magnificent  hall,  which  now  contains  the 
richest  deposit  of  curiosities  from  the  Celestial  Empire, 
in  the  whole  world.  Rarely  have  we  passed  a  pleasanter 
hour,  or  formed  one  of  a  happier  company.  Every  body 
was  at  his  ease  ;  conversation  was  brisk  ;  the  joke  and  the 
laugh  were  intermingled  with  the  graver  reflections  which 

2 


10 

could  not  be  wholly  suppressed ;  and  all  seemed  filled 
with  admiration  at  the  splendour  of  the  scene,  and  the 
enterprise  and  taste  which  had  called  it  into  being.  Our 
host  did  the  honours  of  his  station  with  refined  and  easy 
dignity,  and  with  evident,  though  certainly  pardonable, 
gratification  at  beholding  his  labours  so  happily  termi- 
nated, and  the  long  cherished  object  of  his  ambition 
crowned  with  so  brilliant  a  success.  The  beverage  ex- 
tracted from  China's  most  celebrated  plant,  of  a  richness 
and  delicacy  of  flavour  extremely  rare  among  us,  was 
served  to  the  guests  in  cups  of  native  manufacture,  vari- 
ous in  shape  and  size,  though  not  without  those  heretical 
accompaniments  of  sugar  and  cream,  which  would  de- 
stroy its  value  in  the  eyes,  or  rather  to  the  palate,  of  a 
true  Chinaman.  The  vineyards  of  France,  and  the  skill 
of  our  own  unrivalled  confectioners,  were  also  put  under 
levy  by  our  entertainer,  to  minister  to  the  gratification  of 
his  guests. 

The  proprietor  enjoyed  facilities  for  gathering  curiosi- 
ties such  as  no  foreigner  perhaps  besides  himself  ever 
possessed.  He  did  not,  indeed,  go  to  China  with  this 
view  originally,  but,  soon  after  his  arrival  there,  the 
thought  occurred  to  him  that  it  would  be  easy  to  collect 
a  cabinet  sufiicient  to  fill  a  small  apartment,  which  would 
be  both  amusing  and  instructive  to  his  friends  in  America. 
This  ha])py  conception,  upon  which  he  immediately  pro- 
ceeded to  act,  was  the  germ  of  that  vast  and  astonishing 
gallery  of  rare  and  curious  objects,  which  has  now  be- 
come one  of  the  chief  ornaments  and  attractions  of  our 
city.  Most  Americans  who  trade  to  China  are  more  or 
less  engaged  in  the  opium  traflic,  which  is  contrary  to 
the  laws  of  the  Empire.  Mr.  Dunn  was  never  interested 
to  the  amount  of  a  dollar  in  that  illicit  commerce.  This 
fact  was  well  known  to  the  officers  of  the  government,  and 


11 

even  to  the  Emperor  himself,  and  created -a  strong  preju- 
dice in  his  favour.  He  always  treated  the  dignitaries  of 
the  Crown  and  other  gentlemen  of  distinction  with  the 
consideration  due  to  their  rank  and  standing.  This 
tended  still  further  to  secure  their  friendship  and  co- 
operation. It  was  by  availing  himself  of  facilities  thus 
obtained,  that  he  was  enabled  to  complete  his  Collection, 
and  the  extensive  and  powerful  influence  he  had  secured 
in  high  places,  enabled  him,  when  ready  to  embark  with 
his  treasures,  to  overcome  obstacles  which  would  other- 
wise have  been  insurmountable.  It  is  thus  that  Mr.  Dunn 
has  reared  a  monument  which  will  perpetuate  his  own 
memory,  and  has  enriched  our  city  and  country  with  an 
exhibition  such  as  cannot  be  matched  elsewhere  in  any 
part  of  the  world. 

We  have  called  this  the  richest  Chinese  Collection  in 
the  world.  Let  us  make  good  our  assertion.  There  are 
but  three  others  any  where,  so  far  as  we  are  informed, 
between  which  and  this  one  of  Mr.  Dunn  any  sort  of 
comparison  can  be  instituted.  Those  three  are,  the^col- 
lection  at  the  Hague,  that  in  the  rooms  of  the  East  India 
Company  in  London,  and  the  Museum  at  Salem,  Massa- 
chusetts. The  first  mentioned  of  these  collections  does 
not  occupy  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  space  devoted  to 
our  townsman's,  and  its  main,  nay,  almost  its  only  object, 
is  a  display  of  the  national  costumes  of  China.  To  this 
end,  a  multitude  of  miniature  men  and  women,  not  like- 
nesses, as  are  those  of  Mr.  D.,  have  been  dressed  in  illus- 
trative attire.  In  this  one  particular,  viz :  the  exhibition 
of  the  distinctive  dresses  of  the  Chinese,  there  may  be  a 
difference  in  favour  of  the  European  over  the  American 
collection,  but  the  advantage  goes  no  farther.  The  gath-, 
ering  of  Oriental  curiosities  displayed  in  the  Rooms  of 
the  London  East  India  Company  is  rich  in  whatever  can 


12 

illustrate  life  and  science  in  India,  but  boasts  compara- 
lively  few  objects,  either  natural  or  artificial,  from  the 
Celestial  Empire.  The  same  remark  holds  true,  to  a 
considerable  extent,  of  that  large,  interesting,  and  valua- 
ble deposit  of  eastern  curiosities  in  the  Salem  Museum, 
which  has  been  accumulating  through  a  long  series  of 
years  by  the  intelligent  and  generous  enterprise  of  the 
hardy  sons  of  the  ocean. 

The  Chinese  Collection  occupies  the  lower  saloon  of 
that  noble  edifice  recently  erected  in  Ninth  street  by  the 
Philadelphia  Museum  Company.  This  apartment  is  one 
hundred  and  sixty-three  feet  in  length,  by  seventy  in 
breadth,  with  lofty  ceilings,  supported  by  twenty~two 
neat  and  substantial  wooden  pilasters.  Behind  each  co- 
lumn, on  either  side  of  the  vast  and  well-proportioned 
hall,  has  been  fitted  up  a  capacious  case,  which  is  en- 
closed by  plate  glass  windows  of  the  purest  transparency. 
The  inter-columniations  arc  each  occupied  by  two  cases 
exactly  the  width  of  the  pilasters,  in  like  manner  en- 
closed with  plate  glass.  Not  far  from  the  entrance  are 
two  octagonal  glass  cases,  occupying  a  portion  of  the 
ample  space  between  the  two  ranges  of  pilasters,  one  of 
which  is  completely  filled  with  a  superb  Chinese  state 
lamp,  of  huge  proportions,  gorgeous  materials,  and  rich 
workmanship.  At  the  extreme  end  of  the  saloon,  are  a 
large  pavilion,  a  silk  draper's  shop,  and  a  Chinese  street, 
nearly  filled  up  by  a  palanquin  and  its  bearers.  So  ample 
is  the  space,  and  so  capacious  and  numerous  the  recepta- 
cles of  this  grand  apartment ;  and  yet  such  is  the  extent 
of  the  collection  of  curiosities  gathered  by  Mr.  Dunn, 
during  his  nine  years'  residence  in  China,  that  a  large 
residuum  remains  in  the  store-rooms,  for  want  of  suffi- 
cient space  in  the  hall  for  their  convenient  display. 

It  is  no  longer  necessary  to  measure  half  the  circuit  of 


13 

the  globe,  and  subject  one's  self  to  the  hazards  and  priva- 
tions of  a  six  months'  voyage  on  distant  and  dangerous 
seas,  to  enjoy  a  peep  at  the  Celestial  Empire.  This  is  a 
gratification  which  may  now  be  enjoyed  by  the  citizens 
of  Philadelphia,  for  the  trouble  of  walking  to  the  corner 
of  Ninth  and  Sansom  streets,  and  by  the  citizens  of  other 
parts  of  the  United  States,  at  no  greater  peril  of  life  and 
limb  than  is  connected  with  locomotion  by  means  of  our 
own  steamboats  and  railroads.  The  Collection  is  a  splen- 
did pageant,  no  doubt;  and  many,  probably,  will  look 
upon  it  merely  as  such.  To  these  it  will  be  a  merd  nine 
days'  wonder ;  an  object  to  be  stared  at  with  idle  curio- 
sity, and  remembered  only  as  a  useless  gewgaw.  For 
ourselves,  we  see  it  with  far  other  eyes,  and  linger  among 
its  strange  and  multitudinous  variety  of  objects  for  a 
widely  different  purpose.  To  us  it  is  a  volume  redolent 
of  instruction ;  the  best  we  have  ever  seen  on  the  Celes- 
tial Empire.  It  is,  in  effect,  China  in  miniature.  It  al- 
most realizes,  in  reference  to  the  manners  and  civiliza- 
tion of  that  remote,  unique,  and  interesting  people,  the 
fable  of  the  woods  moving  to  the  sound  of  the  lyre  of 
Orpheus. 

Some  readers,  perhaps,  will  regard  such  expressions 
as  sheer  hyperbole,  a  mere  rhetorical  flourish.  We  utter, 
however,  a  simple  verity,  which  will  be  responded  to  by 
every  person  of  taste  and  intelligence  who  visits  and  exa- 
mines the  Collection.  And  we  are  prepared  even  to  ex- 
press a  stronger  opinion  than  this  of  the  merits  of  this 
unique  exhibition.  It  is  well  known  that  an  impassable 
barrier  excludes  foreigners  from  all  but  a  small  patch  of 
the  Celestial  Empire.  Considering  these  restrictions,  and 
the  very  limited  sphere  of  observations  that  can  be  en- 
joyed by  any  stranger  not  connected  with  a  diplomatic 
embassy,  we  have  little  doubt  that  a  better  idea  may  be 


14 

obtained  of  the  characteristic  intelligence  and  national 
customs  of  the  Chinese  from  Mr.  Dunn's  Collection,  than 
by  an  actual  visit,  we  do  not  say  to  China,  but  to  the 
small  portion  of  the  suburbs  of  Canton,  which  is  all  that 
foreigners  are  permitted  to  see.  Mr.  D.'s  Collection 
embraces  innumerable  objects  from  all  parts  of  the  Em- 
pire, the  interior  as  well  as  the  sea  coast  districts. 

The  many  thousands  of  individual  objects  which  this 
Collection  embraces,  are  not,  of  course,  susceptible  of  a 
perfect  classification  ;  yet  the  principal  and  most  instruc- 
tive of  them  may  be  ranged  under  the  following  heads  : — 
Figures,  of  the  size  of  life,  in  full  costume,  representing 
Chinese  men  and  women,  all  of  them  being  real  like- 
nesses ;  implements  of  various  kinds ;  paintings ;  speci- 
mens of  japan  and  porcelain  ware  ;  models  of  boats  and 
summer  houses ;  lanterns ;  natural  productions,  including 
birds,  minerals,  shells,  fishes,  reptiles,  insects,  etc.;  mo- 
dels of  pagodas ;  with  a  numerous  assemblage  of  et  cetera^ 
which  refuse  to  be  classed. 

We  do  not  propose  a  full  description  of  these  numer- 
ous, or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  these  innume7^ahle 
curiosities.  All  that  we  can  undertake  is  to  throw  off  a 
few  imperfect  sketches,  interspersing  them  with  such 
items  of  information,  gleaned  in  the  course  of  our  read- 
ing as  may  seem  fitted  to  relieve  our  own  dullness,  and 
afford  somewhat  of  entertainment,  if  not  of  instruction,  to 
our  readers.  To  our  sketches  of  this  kind,  will  be  added 
a  brief  account  of  our  trade  with  China — its  nature,  his- 
tory, value,  and  prospects. 


15 


II.     General  View  of  the  Interior  of  the  Saloon, 

Taking  the  reader  for  our  companion,  we  pass  into  the 
Museum  building,  by  the  grand  entrance  at  the  western 
end  of  the  vast  pile.  Over  the  door  on  our  left,  is  a 
handsome  but  odd  looking  sign,  with  several  Chinese 
characters  in  gold  upon  it.  Easily  divining  the  meaning, 
though  unable  to  interpret  the  writing,  we  instinctively 
take  this  direction,  and  find  ourselves,  upon  the  instant, 
in  the  vestibule  of  the  green-room,  where  we  are  to  pro- 
cure our  tickets  of  admission.  Here  we  appear  to  our- 
selves to  be  suddenly  multiplied  into  a  small  army  by  the 
numerous  mirrors,  which  serve  as  panels  to  the  partitions 
and  doors  by  which  we  are  surrounded.  The  exterior 
of  the  green-room  is  as  elegant  a  piece  of  work  as  one 
need  desire  to  look  upon.  The  mirrors,  especially,  are 
a  capital  idea.  They  will  be  the  source  of  infinite  diver- 
tisement,  and  will  put  every  body  in  a  good  humour  just 
at  the  right  time.  Passing  through  another  vestibule, 
that  of  the  grand  saloon,  which  is  separated  from  it  by  a 
beautiful  Cliinese  screen,  such  as  is  seen  in  most  houses 
of  the  better  sort  in  the  Celestial  Empire,  we  find  our- 
selves within  full  prospect  of  all  the  glories  treasured 
within  the  spacious  Hall  of  the  Collection.  Here,  as  if 
touched  by  the  wand  of  an  enchanter,  we  are  compelled 
to  pause,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  a  general  survey,  and 
giving  vent  to  our  admiration.  The  view  is  imposing  in 
the  highest  degree.  But  it  is  so  unlike  any  thing  we  are 
accustomed  to  behold,  that  we  are  at  a  loss  for  epithets 
exactly  descriptive  of  it.  Brilliant,  splendid,  gorgeous, 
magnificent,  superb — all  these  adjectives  are  liberally 
used  by  visiters,  and  they  are  strictly  apposite,  but  they 
want  the  proper  explicitness  ;   they  do  not  place  the 


16 

scene, — new,  strange,  and  bizarre  as  it  is, — distinctly 
before  the  mind.  The  rich  screen-work  at  the  two  ends 
of  the  saloon,  the  many-shaped  and  many-coloured  lamps 
suspended  from  the  ceiling,  the  native  paintings  which 
cover  the  walls,  the  Chinese  maxims  adorning  the  co- 
lumns, the  choice  silks,  gay  with  a  hundred  colours,  and 
tastefully  displayed  over  the  cases  along  the  north  side, 
and  the  multitude  of  cases  crowded  with  rare  and  inte- 
resting sights,  form  a  tout- ensemble,  possessing  an  inte- 
rest and  a  beauty  entirely  its  own,  and  which  must  be 
seen  before  it  can  be  appreciated.  The  beauty  of  the 
general  view,  and  the  attractiveness  of  the  whole  exhibi- 
tion, will  be  greatly  enhanced  by  an  improvement  soon 
to  be  commenced.  Mr.  Dunn  is  about  to  have  constructed 
an  elegant  fountain  in  the  centre  of  the  saloon,  with  a  basin 
enlivened  by  gold  fish,  and  surrounded  by  a  row  of  Chi- 
nese plants  and  flowers.  There  will  be  a  jet  in  the  centre, 
and  a  waterfall  on  each  side ;  and  the  whole  will  be  illu- 
minated at  night  with  gas  lights  underneath.  The  scene 
cannot  fail  to  be  singularly  brilliant  and  beautiful ;  and, 
during  the  hot  summer  months,  the  refreshing  coolness 
diffused  throughout  the  saloon,  must  make  it  ever  a  place 
of  general  resort. 


III.     The  iioo  Octagonal  Glass  Cases, 

In  our  preliminary  notices,  we  referred  to  these  cases 
as  being  near  the  door.  On  this  account,  as  well  as  on 
some  others,  they  are,  to  a  person  entering,  the  most 
conspicuous  objects  in  the  saloon  ;  and  they  contain  some 
of  the  most  splendid  and  costly  articles  in  the  whole  Col- 
lection. They  are  about  fifteen  feet  high,  and  are  covered 
with  an  exact  fac-simile  of  a  Chinese  roof,  each  corner  of 


17 

which  terminates  in  a  golden  dragon,  from  whose  fiery 
mouth  depends  a  bell,  such  as  we  see  in  pictures  and 
models  of  pagodas.  The  dragon  is  an  imperial  emblem 
in  China,  and  this  fact  explains  the  frequency  with  which 
we  see  the  figure  in  their  various  works  of  art. 

The  case  on  the  south  side  of  the  saloon,  contains,  and 
is  nearly  filled  by,  a  superb  lamp,  used  only  upon  occa- 
sions of  state.  This  lamp  is  totally  gnlike  any  thing  we 
have,  and  no  description  can  convey  an  adequate  idea  of 
it.  It  is  hexagonal,  and  cannot  be  much,  if  any,  less  than 
ten  feet  in  height,  and  three  feet  in  diameter  at  the  two 
extremities.  The  frame  is  richly  carved  and  gilt,  and  is 
covered  with  crimson  and  white  silk,  adorned  with  the 
most  costly  and  beautiful  embroidery.  The  trappings 
which  depend  from  the  bottom,  and  from  a  projecting 
portion  of  each  corner  of  the  upper  part,  are  in  keeping 
with  the  i^st.  There  are  no  less  than  two  hundred  and 
fifty-eight  crimson  silk  tassels,  pendent  from  various  parts. 
In  short,  this  national  lamp  is  as  magnificent  as  carving, 
gilding,  silks,  embroidery,  and  bead-work,  can  make  it. 

The  bottom  of  the  case  is  covered  with  numerous  spe- 
cimens of  fans,  an  article  in  universal  use.  Gentlemen  as 
well  as  ladies  carry  it,  not  laying  it  aside  even  in  cold 
weather. 

The  octagonal  case  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  saloon, 
contains  a  variety  of  interesting,  and,  to  us,  strange  arti- 
cles. We  have  here  three  national  lamps,  each  made  for 
a  distinct  purpose,  a  saddle  and  bridle,  six  Chinese  can- 
dles, specimens  of  indigenous  fruits  in  enamel  and  clay, 
divers  specimens  of  embroidery,  and  a  sample  of  their 
woollen  fabrics.  This  last,  which  is  spread  out  upon  the 
floor,  covering  almost  the  whole  of  it,  is  not  of  wool  alone, 
but  has  a  mixture  of  cotton  in  it.     It  is  a  rather  favour- 

3 


18 

able  specimen  of  their  skill  in  this  kind  of  manufactures, 
but  would  not  gain  much  applause  among  us.  The  Chi- 
nese do  not  excel  in  the  making  of  woollen  goods.  Tlie 
fine  broadcloths  in  which  they  clothe  themselves  in  win- 
ter, are  imported  from  foreign  countries. 

The  saddle  would  be  taken,  at  first  sight,  for  two  or 
three,  piled  one  on  the  other.  It  is  covered  with  rich 
embroidery,  and,  though  clumsy  in  appearance,  looks  as 
if  it  would  make  a  very  pleasant  riding  s  ^at.  The  bridle 
has  silver  mountings ;  and  there  is  a  trapping  consisting 
of  two  large  tufts  of  red  horse  hair,  worn  under  the 
animaFs  neck. 

The  candles  are  of  enormous  size,  being  not  less  than 
three  feet  in  length,  and  over  two  inches  in  diameter,  with 
wicks  of  corresponding  dimensions.  They  are  gaily 
adorned  with  artificial  flowers  made  of  wax.  This  kind 
is  used  only  in  temples,  on  public  festival  occasions,  and 
at  the  most  sumptuous  private  entertainments.  Candles 
in  China  are  made  of  a  material  obtained  by  crushing  and 
boiling  together  the  seeds  and  capsules  of  the  tallow  tree. 
They  are  naturally  very  white,  but  a  colouring  substance 
is  sometimes  mixed  with  that  of  which  they  are  made.  A 
portion  of  linseed  oil  and  wax  is  also  occasionally  added, 
to  give  consistence. 

The  specimens  of  embroidery  are  exceedingly  beauti- 
ful. In  this  art,  the  Chinese  excel  all  others;  and  their 
fondness  for  it  seems  scarcely  less  than  a  passion.  Men, 
as  well  as  women,  labour  at  this  occupation  ;  and  it  must 
be  one.  of  the  most  productive  kinds  of  industry,  as  we 
are  informed  that  some  females  earn  by  it  twenty,  and 
even  twenty-five  dollars  a  month. 

Of  the  three  lamps  in  this  case,  one,  like  that  before 
described,  is  a  state  lamp.  This  is  suspended  in  the 
centre.     It  is  of  smaller  dimensions  and  less  costly  work- 


19 

manship,  but  in  other  respects  similar  to  that  in  the 
other  case.  There  is  another,  differing  materially  in  its 
form  from  these,  but  made  chiefly  of  silk,  which  is  much 
used  in  theatrical  representations.  This  is  of  exquisite 
beauty,  both  in  materials  and  manufacture.  The  third, 
again,  differs  totally  from  either  of  those  before  noticed. 
It  is  carried  in  marriage  processions,  and  the  gayness 
of  its  appearance  harmonizes  well  with  the  joyousness 
supposed  to  characterize  such  occasions. 


IV.     Lamps  and  Lanterns, 

We  may  as  well,  in  this  connexion,  notice  briefly  the 
other  lamps  and  lanterns  in  the  Collection,  of  which  there 
is  a  liberal  supply.  They  depend  from  the  ceiling  in  all 
parts  of  the  saloon,  and  are  of  almost  every  imaginable 
form  and  size.  In  scarcely  any  thing  do  the  taste  and 
ingenuity  of  the  Chinese  appear  to  better  advantage  than 
in  the  manufacture  of  these  curious  and  characteristic 
articles.  They  are  made  of  horn,  silk,  glass,  paper,  and 
sometimes  of  a  netting  of  fine  thread  overspread  with  a 
thick  coating  of  varnish.  The  frame-work  is  often  carved 
in  the  richest  manner,  the  silk  which  covers  it  is  elegantly 
embroidered  or  painted  with  landscapes  representing  na- 
ture in  her  gayest  moods,  and  the  various  decorations 
lavished  upon  them  are  in  a  corresponding  style.  As  a 
national  ornament,  peculiar  to  the  Chinese,  the  lantern 
does  not  give  place  to  any  thing  found  in  any  other 
country. 

The  fondness  of  the  Chinese  for  lamps  and  lanterns, 
and  the  universal  use  of  them,  constitutes  one  of  the 
marked  peculiarities  in  the  customs  of  the  race.  The 
^'  Stranger  in  China '^  remarks,  that  a  Chinaman  and  his 


20 

lantern  seem  wedded  together,  and  the  former  is  rarely 
found  without  the  latter.  They  are  placed  in  the  streets, 
temples,  boats,  ^S:c.,  and  are  always  to  be  seen  in  the 
hands  of  the  pedestrians  after  dark.  The  same  writer 
relates  the  following  amusing  anecdote,  as  affording  a 
striking  and  original  exemplification  of  both  the  power 
of  habit  and  the  national  peculiarity  above  referred  to. 
When  Captain  Maxwell  passed  the  Bogue  in  the  Alceste 
frigate,  as  he  came  up  with  the  battery  of  Annahoy,  the 
fort  appeared  well  lighted,  and  a  brisk  cannonade  was 
commenced  upon  the  ship.  However,  after  the  first 
broadside  had  been  fired  upon  the  fortress,  and  when 
the  vessel  was  scarcely  a  half  musket-shot  from  it,  the 
whole  place  was  deserted,  and  the  embrasures  were 
quickly  as  dark  as  before.  The  Chinese  were  thoroughly 
frightened,  and  ran  off  with  a  most  edifying  precipita- 
tion. At  the  same  time,  instead  of  concealing  their  flight 
in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  each  man  seized  his  lantern, 
as  he  had  done  a  hundred  times  before,  and  clambered 
with  it  up  the  steep  side  of  the  hill  immediately  behind 
the  fort.  The  sight  of  so  many  bald-pated  soldiers,  with 
their  long  pig- tails  dangling  at  their  back,  each  with  a 
great  painted  balloon  in  his  hand,  was  extremely  ludi- 
crous, and  took  away  any  slight  inclination  the  marines 
might  have  had  to  get  a  shot  with  their  muskets  at  such 
excellent  marks. 

The  lamp  oil  in  common  use  is  extracted  from  the 
ground-nut,  so  abundant  among  us,  which  grows  luxuri- 
antly in  China.  The  same  kind  is  used  for  culinary  pur- 
poses, and  supplies  almost  entirely  the  place  of  butter. 
It  is  said  to  be  of  a  very  good  quality,  burning  freely, 
and  with  but  little  smoke. 


21 


V.     The  Screen-woi'k  at  the  entrance. 

Let  us  now  retrace  our  steps  to  the  entrance,  and 
make  the  circuit  of  the  hall  in  order.  In  the  partition 
which  separates  the  vestibule  from  the  grand  saloon,  we 
have  an  admirable  specimen  of  Chinese  screen-work.  By- 
many  persons  this  will  be  pronounced  the  most  beautiful 
object  in  the  whole  Collection,  and  may,  without  exagge- 
ration, be  said  to  be  of  itself  well  worth  the  price  of  ad- 
mission. It  is  richly  and  tastefully  gilded  ;  the  portion 
of  the  wood  work  not  covered  with  gold  is  painted  of  a 
delicate  green ;  and  the  silk  inserted  in  the  panels  is  as 
gay  as  it  can  be  rendered  by  a  profusion  of  exquisitely 
executed  paintings  of  the  most  delicate  and  magnificent 
of  eastern  flowers.  The  whole  view  is  redolent  of  the 
spirit  and  beauty  of  spring.  The  drawings  and  colouring 
of  the  flowers  are  admirable,  and  show  the  perfection 
which  has  been  attained  in  these  bmnches  of  their  art  by 
Chinese  painters.  Besides  the  floral  delineation,  there  is 
also  a  row  of  silk  panels,  if  we  may  be  allowed  the  ex- 
pression, exhibiting  views  of  naval  architecture,  both 
curious  and  instructive. 

At  each  end  of  this  screen-partition  there  is  a  superb 
China  vase,  about  six  feet  high,  including  the  base. 
These  are  of  a  size  and  beauty  such  as  we  rarely  meet 
with  in  this  country.  They  are  covered  with  a  profusion 
of  characteristic  figures,  among  which  the  imperial  dra- 
gon holds  a  distinguished  place. 


22 


VI.     Picture  of  Canton, 

We  will  commence  our  peregrination  round  the  saloon 
at  the  north-west  corner,  that  is,  on  the  left  side  as  you 
enter.  The  first  object  to  which  we  call  the  attention 
of  the  visiter  here  is  a  picture  of  Canton,  nine  feet  by 
five,  painted  by  a  native  artist.  A  glance  at  this  produc- 
tion will  correct  a  prevalent  error  respecting  the  inabili- 
ty of  Chinese  painters  to  produce  perspective.  Though 
light  and  shade  are  certainly  a  good  deal  neglected  here, 
and  the  perspective  is  not  perfect,  yet  the  picture  is  by 
no  means  deficient  in  this  regard ;  and  the  drawings  of 
individual  objects  are  extremely  accurate.  The  point 
from  which  the  view  has  been  taken  is  the  bank  of  the 
river  opposite  Canton,  directly  in  front  of  the  foreign 
factories,  which  occupy  about  one  half  the  canvass.  The 
scene,  particularly  upon  the  surface  of  the  intervening 
river,  is  altogether  novel  to  American  eyes,  and  highly 
characteristic.  The  national  boats,  of  which  there  is  a 
very  great  variety,  have,  all,  their  representatives  here, 
from  the  gaudy  flower  barge,  in  which  large  parties  are 
borne  gaily  over  the  waters,  to  the  tiny  sanpan,  whose 
contracted  dimensions  will  admit  only  a  single  navigator. 
This  part  of  the  view  is  peculiarly  animated  and  interest- 
ing. The  foreign  factories  occupy  the  central  part  of 
the  picture,  and  the  French,  English  and  American 
ensigns  float  gaily  above  them.  On  each  side  of  these, 
we  have  a  view  of  a  small  portion  of  Canton  bordering 
upon  the  river;  but  as  the  city  is  built  upon  low  and  flat 
ground,  almost  the  whole  of  it  is  invisible  from  our  pre- 
sent point  of  observation. 

In  connexion  with  this  description  of  the  picture,  we 
offer  a  few  general  remarks  upon  the  southern  capital. 


23 

which  will  not,  we  trust,  be  without  their  interest  to  the 
reader.  Canton  stands  upon  the  north  bank  of  the  Choo- 
keang  or  Pearl  river,  about  sixty  miles  inland  from  the 
"  great  sea.''  It  is  one  of  the  oldest  cities  in  the  southern 
provinces,  and  second  in  importance  to  no  other  in  the 
Empire,  except  Peking,  where  the  Emperor  holds  his 
court.  It  is  the  great  commercial  emporium  of  China, 
and  the  only  port  where  foreign  trade  is  permitted.  It 
is  not  very  large  in  extent,  the  whole  circuit  of  the  walls 
not  exceeding  probably  six  miles  ;  but  it  is  densely  peo- 
pled, and  the  suburbs,  including  the  river  population, 
contain  as  many  inhabitants  as  the  city  proper. 

The  streets  of  Canton  are  very  numerous,  being  over 
six  hundred.  Their  names  sound  oddly  to  us,  and  have 
rather  an  ambitious  air.  "  Dragon  street,"  "  Flying-dra- 
gon street,"  ^'Martial-dragon  street,"  ^^  Flower  street," 
^^ Golden  street,"  ^^Golden-flower  street,"  &c.  are  high- 
sounding  enough  ;  but  some  of  them,  it  is  said,  have  names 
which  would  hardly  bear  to  be  translated  for  "  ears  po- 
lite." The  Rev.  Mr.  Bridgman  states  that  they  vary  in 
width  from  two  to  sixteen  feet,  and  gives  it  as  his  opinion 
that  the  general  average  is  from  six  to  eight  feet.  Mr. 
Dunn  thinks  this  an  over-estimate  by  one  or  two  feet. 
They  are  all  paved  with  large  flag  stones,  chiefly  granite. 
Wheel  carriages  are  never  used.  Those  who  can  afford 
to  ride  are  borne  in  sedan  chairs  on  the  shoulders  of  coo- 
lies, and  all  heavy  burdens  are  carried  by  porters.  The 
streets  are  generally  crowded,  and  present  a  busy,  bus- 
tling, animated  appearance.  They  all  have  gates  at  each 
end,  which  are  closed  at  night,  and  guarded  by  a  sentinel. 

The  houses  are  but  one  story  high.  A  few  of  them  are 
of  wood  or  stone  ;  many,  belonging  to  the  poorer  classes, 
of  mud,  and  with  but  a  single  apartment:  but  the  largest 
portion,  of  bricks.     The  dwellings  of  those  in  easy  cir- 


24 

cumstances  contain  various  well-furnished  apartments,  the 
walls  of  which  are  generally  ornamented  with  carving, 
pictures,  and  various  scrolls,  inscribed  with  moral  maxims 
from  Confucius  and  other  sages.  The  houses  of  the 
wealthy  are  often  furnished  in  a  style  of  great  magnifi- 
cence, and  the  occupants  indulge  in  the  most  luxurious 
habits.  Official  personages,  however,  for  the  most  part 
set  a  commendable  example  of  simplicity  and  economy  in 
their  manner  of  living.  The  doors  have  no  plates  to  tell 
who  the  occupant  of  the  mansion  is,  but  cylindrical  lan- 
terns are  hung  up  by  the  sides  of  the  gates  of  all  houses 
of  consequence,  Vvith  the  names  and  titles  of  the  owners 
inscribed,  so  as  to  be  read  either  by  day,  or  at  night, 
when  the  lanterns  are  lighted. 

Canton  is  a  large  manufacturing  as  w-ell  as  commercial 
town.  Mr.  Bridgman  informs  us  that  there  are  no  less 
than  17,000  persons  engaged  in  weaving  silk,  and  50,000 
in  manufacturing  cloth  of  all  kinds  ;  that  there  are  4,200 
shoemakers ;  and,  what  will  startle  and  astound  every 
one,  that  there  is  an  army  of  barbers  amounting  to  7,300 ! 
The  important  office  of  tonsor  can  be  held  only  by  license 
of  government.  Why  the  number  is  so  great,  will  be 
explained  subsequently.  The  manufacture  of  books  is 
extensively  carried  on  in  this  city,  but  we  are  not  in 
possession  of  the  exact  statistics.  ^^  Those  likewise,'' 
says  Bridgman,  "  who  work  in  wood,  brass,  iron,  stone, 
and  various  other  materials,  are  numerous;  and  they  who 
engage  in  each  of  these  respective  occupations,  form,  to 
a  certain  degree,  a  separate  community,  and  have  each 
their  own  laws  and  rules  for  the  regulation  of  their  busi- 
ness." 

Both  operatives  and  tradesmen  arc  very  much  in  the 
habit  of  herding  together.  Entire  streets  are  devoted  to 
thw  same  kind  of  business.     There  is  even  a  street  occu- 


25 

pied  almost  exclusively  by  professors  of  the  healing  art, 
and  is  thence  called  by  the  Fanquis,*  "  Doctor  street." 
The  signs,  gaily  painted  and  lettered  on  each  side,  and 
hung  out  like  tavern  signs  among  us,  give  the  business 
streets  a  lively  and  brilliant  appearance. 

The  population  of  Canton  is  a  difficult  subject.  No 
certain  data  exist  for  an  accurate  estimate.  The  author 
above  quoted  enters  into  conjectures  and  calculations, 
which  give  him  a  result  of  nearly  a  million  and  a  quarter, 
including  the  suburbs  and  river.  It  seems  probable  that 
this  estimate  is  considerably  beyond  the  mark.  The  river 
population  is  an  interesting  subject,  to  which  we  shall 
recur. 

VII.     Picture  of  Whampoa. 

Above  the  picture  just  described,  is  another,  of  the 
same  dimensions  and  by  the  same  artist,  presenting  us 
with  a  view  of  Whampoa  and  the  surrounding  country. 
The  point  from  which  the  view  is  taken  is  French  island, 
a  small  portion  of  which  appears  in  the  fore-ground. 
Considering  ourselves  as  occupying  this  position,  we  have 
immediately  before  us  Whampoa  Reach,  in  which  several 
foreign  vessels  are  riding  at  anchor,  and  Whampoa  Island, 
with  its  walled  town,  its  plantations  of  rice,  sugar-cane, 
&c.,  its  orange  groves,  and  its  picturesque  and  lofty  pa- 
goda crowning  a  distant  eminence.  Beyond  appear  the 
winding  channel  called  Junk  River,  the  level  coast,  and 
the  far-off  mountains,  that  swell  out,  in  undulating  outline, 
to  the  northward  of  Canton.  The  view  represented  in 
the  picture  is  extensive  and  beautiful,  and  the  execution 
of  the  painting  is  creditable  to  the  skill  of  the  artist. 

♦  Foreigners. 

4 


26 

Whampoa  Reach,  the  southern  channel,  is  the  anchor- 
age of  all  foreign  shipping.  It  is  nine  miles  from  Canton. 
The  cargoes  imported  iwe  here  unladed,  and  taken  up  to 
the  factories  in  a  kind  of  lighter,  called  chops;  and 
whatever  is  to  be  exported  is  brought  down  in  the  same 
way. 


VIII.     Picture  of  Hormn, 

Directly  opposite  these  two  pictures,  is  a  smaller  one 
of  Honan,  a  village  on  the  south  side  of  Pearl  river, 
over  against  Canton.  This  village  is  chiefly  celebrated 
for  its  extensive  and  magnificent  temple  of  Budha, 
the  richest  religious  establishment  in  this  part  of  the 
Empire.  No  part  of  the  splendid  structure  is  visi- 
ble in  the  painting,  which  is  mainly  interesting  as 
affording  the  best  view  of  river  life  in  the  Collection. 
This  is  a  mode  of  existence  peculiar  to  the  Chinese.  The 
people  of  other  nations  resort  to  the  water  for  purposes  of 
gain,  warfare,  health,  or  pleasure,  for  a  season,  but  they 
never  cease  to  regard  the  land  as  their  natural  and  per- 
manent dwelling-place.  They  would  be  miserable  if 
they  believed  themselves  confined  for  life  to  floating 
habitations,  whatever  temporary  attractions  these  might 
possess.  But  millions  on  millions  of  people  in  China  are 
born,  vegetate,  and  die,  upon  the  bosom  of  its  numerous 
streams.  They  occasionally  make  a  "  cruise  on  shore,'' 
but  they  return  to  the  water  as  their  natural  home  and 
element.  It  is  computed  that  there  are  not  less  than 
84,000  dwelling  boats  within  the  immediate  neighbour- 
hood of  Canton.  These  are  arranged  in  regular  streets, 
which  are  lighted  up  at  night.  Besides  the  boats  used  as 
habitations,  the  river  is  covered  with  innumerable  craft 


27 

ill  perpetual  motion ;  yet  such  is  the  skill  with  which 
they  are  managed,  and  the  peaceableness  of  the  boat- 
men, that  jostlings  rarely  occur,  and  quarrels  are  almost 
unknown. 

The  visiter  will  observe,  on  the  window-sill  in  this 
corner  of  the  saloon,  two  specimens  of  Chinese  windows. 
The  substance  used  for  transmitting  the  light  is  mother- 
of-pearl.  A  variety  of  other  substances  is  employed  for 
the  same  purpose,  as  mica,  horn,  paper,  silk-gauze,  &c. 
Glass  windows  are  seldom  seen.  There  is  a  frame-work 
in  front  of  the  translucent  substance,  dividing  it  into 
small  panes,  of  various  shapes.  This  is  the  general  style 
of  Chinese  windows,  but  the  passion  of  the  people  for 
variety  leads  them  to  adopt  an  endless  diversity  of  pat- 
terns, as  any  one  may  easily  assure  himself  by  examining 
divers  of  the  paintings  in  Mr.  Dunn's  Collection. 


IX.      The  first  Case  on  the  north  wall,  with  the  two 
Cases  opposite. 

We  now  proceed  to  notice  the  contents  of  the  glass 
cases  in  order.  The  first  contains  two  civil  mandarins, 
of  the  first  and  second  grades.  The  one  highest  in  rank 
is  seated,  with  his  head  uncovered ;  the  other,  with  his 
cap  still  on,  is  paying  the  customary  respect  to  his  supe- 
rior, previous  to  his  occupancy  of  an  adjoining  chair. 
The  former  is  upon  the  left,  this  being  the  post  of  honour 
among  the  Chinese.  A  secretary  is  in  waiting  behind 
each,  with  some  oflicial  documents  in  his  hand.  The  two 
dignitaries  are  attired  in  their  state  robes,  which  are  lite- 
rally stiff  with  embroidery,  a  liberal  proportion  of  which 
is  wrought  with  gold  thread.  Each  has  an  enormous 
bead  neck-lace,  extending  below  the  waist  in  front,  with 


28 

a  string  of  ^^ court  beads''  attached  to  it  at  the  hinder 
part  of  the  neck,  which  reaches  down  to  the  middle  of 
the  back.  The  caps  are  dome-shaped,  with  the  lower 
portion  turned  up,  and  forming  a  broad  rim,  which  is 
faced  with  black  velvet.  The  top  of  the  cap  is  sur- 
mounted by  a  globular  button,  or  ball,  from  which  there 
depends  a  sufficient  quantity  of  crimson  silk  to  cover 
completely  the  whole  of  the  upper  portion.  The  mate- 
rial and  colour  of  the  crowning  sphere  indicates  the  rank 
of  the  wearer.  Besides  this  distinctive  button,  each 
grade  of  mandarins  has  a  characteristic  badge,  worn  both 
upon  the  breast  and  the  back.  This  is  a  square  piece  of 
black  silk,  covered  with  various  embroidery,  but  having 
its  centre  occupied  with  the  embroidered  figure  of  a  bird, 
a  dragon,  or  a  tiger.  The  rank  of  the  officer  is  desig- 
nated by  the  kind  and  colour  of  the  central  figure.  In 
the  badges  of  the  two  mandarins  in  this  case,  for  example, 
the  figure  in  each  is  a  bird,  but  in  one  it  is  white,  and  in 
the  other  blue. 

The  articles  of  furniture  in  the  first  case  are  such  as 
are  commonly  met  with  in  the  houses  of  the  higher  classes. 
There  are  two  massive  arm  chairs,  of  a  dark-coloured 
wood,  the  enormous  breadth  of  which  will  attract  general 
notice.  There  is  also  a  square  table,  with  abundance  of 
carving  upon  it,  the  top  of  which  is  inlaid  with  porcelain. 
In  front  depends  an  elegant  and  costly  piece  of  golden 
embroidery.  The  back  wall  of  the  apartment  is  hung 
with  crimson  drapery  thickly  sprinkled  wdth  gold,  and 
containing  maxims  from  the  philosophers,  in  large  and 
elegant  Chinese  characters. 

The  nobility  of  China  is  of  two  kinds,  hereditary  and 
official.  The  former  class  of  nobles  is  not  numerous,  nor 
greatly  influential.  It  consists  cliiefly  of  the  relations  of 
the  Emperor,  who  are  styled  princes,  and  are  bound  to 


29 

live  within  the  precincts  of  the  imperial  palace.  The 
real  nobility,  or  aristocracy,  of  the  country,  are  the  man- 
darins. Of  these  there  are  estimated  to  be,  on  the  civil 
list  of  the  Empire,  not  less  than  14,000.  The  mandarins 
are  divided  into  nine  ranks,  or  piuj  each  of  which  is 
indicated  by  a  double  badge — the  colour  of  the  globe  on 
the  apex  of  the  cap,  and  the  embroidery  on  the  front  and 
back  of  their  official  robes.  The  colours  employed  are 
red,  blue,  crystal,  white,  and  gold ;  and  these,  with 
certain  modifications  of  shade,  serve  to  distinguish  what 
are  denominated  "  the  nine  ranks.''  The  nominal  rank, 
and  of  course  the  distinctive  costume,  of  any  of  the  offi- 
cial grades,  may  be  purchased  of  the  Emperor.  It  is, 
however,  rarely  done,  as  the  sum  demanded  is  very  large. 
Houqua,  for  instance,  the  richest  of  the  Hong  merchants, 
whose  likeness  we  have  in  the  figure  of  the  mandarin  of 
the  first  class,  purchased  his  nominal  rank  at  the  enor- 
mous price  of  8100,000. 

Persons  are  selected  for  civil  office  in  China  with  an 
almost  exclusive  reference  to  their  talents  and  education. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem,  there  is  probably  no  other  coun- 
try on  the  globe  where  cultivated  talent  exercises  its 
legitimate  sway  to  an  equal  extent.  Wealth,  and  titular 
nobility,  and  purchased  rank,  have  their  influence,  no 
doubt ;  but,  unless  accompanied  by  personal  merit,  and 
above  all,  by  education,  their  power  is  comparatively 
limited  and  feeble.  That  the  Emperor  takes  good  heed 
to  choose  for  his  officers  none  but  men  of  the  highest  at- 
tainments and  most  commanding  abilities,  is  certain ;  whe- 
ther he  is  equally  careful  to  secure  men  of  the  ])urest 
virtue,  seems  at  least  questionable.  Most  writers  on 
China  agree  in  ascribing  to  the  mandarins  no  very  envia- 
ble character  for  moral  honesty  or  civil  justice.  They 
represent   them   as  crafty,   rapacious,   and  oppressive; 


30 

traitors  alike  to  the  interests  of  their  master,  the  princi- 
ples of  equity,  and  the  sentiment  of  mercy.  The  lower 
orders  of  Chinese  are  presented  to  our  imagination  under 
the  similitude  of  pigeons,  while  the  mandarins  are  repre- 
sented as  the  hawks  who  are  watching  to  despoil  them  of 
their  property. 

Mr.  Dunn  thinks  this  picture  quite  too  highly  colour- 
ed. Mr.  J.  F.  Davis,  also, — an  English  gentleman  of 
education  and  intelligence,  who,  having  accompanied 
Lord  Amherst  on  an  embassy  to  Peking,  in  1816,  after- 
wards resided  over  twenty  years  in  China,  and  whose 
opportunities  of  observation  were  therefore  the  best  that 
could  be, — gives  a  greatly  modified,  if  not  an  entirely 
different,  view  of  the  mandarin's  character.  He  says  that 
the  worst  phases  under  which  the  Chinese  character  is 
any  where  seen,  is  at  Canton ;  and  that  it  is  not  fair  to 
reason  from  the  malpractices  of  the  government  ofiicers 
in  that  city  to  a  similar  line  of  conduct  in  those  of  other 
parts  of  the  Empire.  There  is  doubtless  considerable 
force  in  this  observation.  Foreigners  are  considered  by 
all  Chinamen  as  fair  game. 

Such,  then,  is  the  view  of  Mr.  Davis  :  nevertheless,  he 
is  obliged  to  confess  that  malversations  in  the  public  func- 
tionaries are  of  frequent  occurrence,  and  that  the  patri- 
archal character  claimed  for  the  government  has  dege- 
nerated into  ^^a  mere  fiction,  excellently  calculated  to 
strengthen  and  perpetuate  the  hand  of  despotism,  but 
retaining  little  of  the  paternal  character  beyond  its  abso- 
lute authority." 

It  is  well  known  that  the  civil  institutions  of  China 
claim  to  be  framed  and  fashioned  upon  the  exact  model 
of  a  wise  family  government.  The  Emperor  is  invariably 
spoken  of  as  the  father  of  the  nation  ;  the  viceroy  of  a 
province  arrogates  the  same  title  in  reference    to  his 


31 

satrapy;  a  mandarin  is  regarded  as  holding  a  similar 
relation  to  the  city  which  he  governs ;  and  even  a  mili- 
tary commander  is  the  father  of  his  soldiers.  This  idea^ 
and  the  sentiments  corresponding  to  it,  are  sedulously 
instilled  into  every  subject  of  the  Empire,  from  the  ear- 
liest dawn  of  the  intellect  till  its  powers  are  extinguished 
by  death.  The  book  of  Sacred  Instructions,  whose  six- 
teen discourses  are  read  to  the  people  twice  every  moon, 
inculcates  the  doctrine  again  and  again.  "  In  our  gene- 
ral conduct,^'  it  says,  "  not  to  be  orderly  is  to  fail  in  filial 
duty  ;  in  serving  our  sovereign,  not  to  be  faithful  is  to  fail 
in  filial  duty  ;  in  acting  as  a  magistrate,  not  to  be  careful 
is  to  fail  in  filial  duty ;  in  the  intercourse  of  friends,  not 
to  be  sincere  is  to  fail  in  filial  duty  ;  in  arms  and  in  war, 
not  to  be  brave  is  to  fail  in  filial  duty."  In  the  early, 
steady,  earnest,  and  universal  inculcation  of  this  precept, 
doubtless,  we  may  discover  the  seminal  principles  of  the 
idiosyncrasy,  the  repose,  the  stability,  the  incwable  con- 
servatism of  the  Celestial  Empire. 

The  two  cases  opposite  the  one  whose  contents  have 
been  just  described,  together  with  the  next  in  a  range 
with  them,  contain  numerous  rare  and  beautiful  speci- 
mens of  shells  and  corals  from  the  Chinese  waters. 


X.      The  second  Wall  Case. 

The  second  case,  on  the  north  side  of  the  saloon,  con- 
tains two  mandarins  of  the  inferior  grades,  a  secretary, 
and  a  common  soldier,  together  with  specimens  of  most 
of  the  national  military  implements.  The  costume  of 
these  mandarins — one  being  of  the  fourth,  the  other  of 
the  sixth  class — is  far  inferior  to  that  of  the  two  in  the 
first  case.     Their  long  silk  petticoats  are  fastened  round 


32 

the  waist  by  means  of  belts,  one  of  which  is  united  in  front 
by  a  clasp,  and  the  other  is  tied  in  a  knot  behind.  The 
visiter  will  notice  a  variety  of  accoutrements  attached  to 
these  belts,  rather  military  in  their  appearance,  but  not 
at  all  so  in  reality.  In  fact,  a  Chinese  never  goes  armed, 
as  the  jealousy  of  the  government  has  denied  the  privi- 
lege of  wearing  arms  to  all  except  the  soldiers  on  parade. 
The  appendages  referred  to  are,  therefore,  altogether 
peaceful,  such  as  a  silk  fan-sheath,  embroidered  tobacco- 
pouches,  &c.  The  caps  are  of  bamboo,  cone-shaped,  but 
not  turned  up  at  the  edges ;  one  of  them  having  crimson 
silk,  the  other  horse-hair  dyed  red,  pendent  from  the 
crowning  ball.     These  are  summer  caps. 

The  secretary  is  standing  behind  his  superior,  and 
reaching  out  to  him  a  red-covered  official  document.  He 
is  attired  in  a  gown  and  spencer  of  dark  nankeen,  the 
common  material  of  the  dresses  of  the  lower  orders. 

The  soldier  in  this  case  is  a  dark-visaged,  hard-favour- 
ed son  of  Mars,  solemn  as  an  owl,  but,  we  fear,  without 
his  wisdom.  He  flourishes  in  a  huge  pair  of  coarse  blue 
nankeen  trowsers,  and  a  red  tunic  of  the  same,  with  white 
facings.  The  cap,  in  the  present  instance,  is  of  quilted 
silk,  with  the  edge  turned  up,  and  a  red  knot  at  the  top. 
More  commonly,  it  is  either  of  rattan  or  bamboo  painted, 
being  in  a  conical  shape,  and  well  suited  to  ward  off  a 
blow.  The  warrior  is  armed  with  a  rude  matchlock,  the 
only  kind  of  hand  fire-arms  known  among  the  Chinese. 
There  is  hung  up  on  the  wall  a  shield,  constructed  of 
rattan  turned  spirally  round  a  centre,  very  similar  in 
shape  and  appearance  to  our  circular  basket  lids.  Be- 
sides the  matchlock  and  shield,  a  variety  of  weapons, 
offensive  and  defensive,  are  in  use  in  China ;  such  as  hel- 
mets, bows  and  arrows,  cross-bows,  spears,  javelins, 
pikes,   halberds,    double    and    single    swords,    daggers. 


33 

maces,  a  species  of  quilted  armour  of  cloth  studded  with 
metal  buttons,  &c. 

The  standing  army  of  the  Celestial  Empire  numbers 
about  700,000  men,  of  whom  80,000  are  Tartars,  the 
rest  native  Chinese.  The  military  power  of  '^  Heaven's 
Son''  appears  formidable  in  figures,  but  has  little  claim 
to  be  so  considered  in  reality.  If  the  universal  testimony 
of  eye- witnesses  may  be  taken  as  proof,  the  army  is  little 
better  than  a  rabble  rout,  mere  men  of  straw,  destitute  of 
discipline,  bravery,  science,  skill,  and  every  other  sol- 
dier-like quality.  Of  artillery  they  know  nothing.  They 
have  no  gun-carriages,  their  cannon  being  fixed  immove- 
ably  in  one  position.  When  the  Sylph  and  Amherst, 
British  men-of-war,  sailed  up  the  coast,  the  Chinese  sol- 
diers threw  up  numerous  mounds  of  earth,  and  white- 
washed them,  to  give  them  the  appearance  of  tents !  In 
the  absence  of  all  truly  martial  qualities,  they  have  abun- 
dance of  cunning  and  trickery ;  and  Chinese  military  faith 
is,  at  the  present  day,  what  Punica  fides  was  in  the  olden 
times. 

The  costumes  of  the  Chinese,  as  displayed  in  the 
figures  of  Mr.  Dunn's  Collection,  form  an  interesting 
subject  of  observation.  The  dress  of  every  grade  of 
society  in  China,  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  fixed  by  usage ; 
that  is,  there  are  certain  limits  which  it  is  not  allowable 
by  custom  to  overstep.  Persons  in  the  lower  classes  wear 
coarse  and  dark-coloured  fabrics ;  while  those  who  have 
been  more  favoured  in  the  accidents  of  birth  and  fortune, 
seek  the  gratification  of  their  taste  in  rich  and  costly 
silks,  satins,  furs,  broadcloths,  and  embroidery.  There 
is  a  great  variety  in  the  dresses,  yet,  as  Mr.  Wood  ob- 
serves, "  the  general  model  is  not  departed  from,  the 
usual  articles  being  a  shirt,  drawers,  a  long  gown  or 
pelisse   buttoning    in    front    over    them,    stockings   and 

5 


34 

shoes. '^  The  shoes  are  singular  enough.  The  uppers 
are  generally  of  embroidered  cloth,  sometimes  one  co- 
lour, sometimes  another,  the  lower  stratum  of  the  soles 
is  leather  made  of  hogs'  skins,  while  the  intermediate 
space,  commonly  about  an  inch  in  thickness,  is  filled  up 
with  bamboo  paper,  with  the  edge  painted  white.  They 
are  quite  light,  notwithstanding  their  clumsy  appearance. 
The  Chinese  seem  to  have  a  great  partiality  for  blue  in 
their  dresses.  Frequently  the  whole  garment  is  of  this 
colour,  and  even  when  this  is  not  the  case,  the  collar, 
cuffs,  and  lower  edges  of  the  drawers,  are,  for  the  most 
part,  of  the  favourite  hue. 

The  wealthier  Chinese  are  extravagantly  fond  of  showy 
dresses,  and  a  well- provided  wardrobe  is  an  object  of 
great  pride.  Handsome  garments  often  descend,  as  an 
heir-loom,  from  generation  to  generation,  and  constitute 
the  chief  riches  of  a  family.  A  deficiency  of  clean  body- 
linen  is  not  regarded  as  a  calamity  by  a  Chinaman.  A 
fair  outside  is  what  he  mainly  covets,  being  little  heedful 
of  either  the  quality  or  condition  of  what  is  underneath. 
The  change  from  a  summer  to  a  winter  costume,  and  vice 
versa,  is  made  simultaneously  throughout  an  entire  pro- 
vince, the  viceroy  setting  the  example  by  assuming  the 
cap  appropriate  to  the  season. 


XI.     Third  Wall  Case, 

This  case  contains  a  group  of  three  literati,  in  summer 
costume.  Their  dresses,  which  are  light  and  free,  con- 
trast advantageously  with  those  tight  and  high-collared 
garments  with  which  fashion  obliges  us  to  encumber  our- 
selves. The  visiter  will  observe,  in  the  hand  of  one  of 
these  philosophers,  what  he  would  naturally  take  for  a 


35 

smelling-bottle,  but  what  is  really  a  receptacle  for  snuff. 
Tobacco,  in  all  the  forms  of  its  preparation,  is  exten- 
sively used.  Transmuted  into  snuff,  it  is  carried,  not  in 
boxes,  but  in  small  bottles,  with  stoppers,  to  which  there 
is  attached  a  little  spoon  or  shovel.  With  this  they  take 
out  the  pungent  dust,  and  place  it  upon  the  back  of  the 
left  hand,  near  the  lower  thumb  joint,  whence  it  is  snuffed 
up  to  the  olfactories,  there  to  perform  its  titillating  office. 

There  is  placed  here,  very  appropriately,  a  Chinese 
book-case,  beautifully  carved  and  highly  polished.  The 
books  are  kept  in  the  lower  section,  where  they  are  pro- 
tected from  dust  by  doors  in  front ;  the  upper  section  is 
an  open  cabinet,  divided  into  five  unequal  compartments, 
set  off  by  divers  ornamental  articles.  The  books  are 
placed  in  a  horizontal  position,  and  the  titles  are  put  on 
the  end  instead  of  the  back. 

We  regret  that  our  restricted  limits  forbid  our  enter- 
ing at  any  length  into  the  consideration  of  the  education 
and  literature  of  China.  This  is,  beyond  comparison,  the 
most  interesting  and  instructive  point  of  view  in  which 
the  Chinese  can  be  contemplated.  We  cannot,  indeed, 
praise  the  kind  of  education  practised  in  China.  The 
studies  are  confined  to  one  unvaried  routine,  and  to  de- 
viate in  the  smallest  degree  from  the  prescribed  track, 
would  be  regarded  as  something  worse  than  mere  eccen- 
tricity. Science,  therefore,  properly  speaking,  is  not 
cultivated  at  all.  There  is  no  advancement,  no  thirsting 
after  fresh  achievements  of  knowledge,  no  bold  and  pry- 
ing investigations  into  the  mysteries  of  nature.  Chemis- 
tO"?  pJ^ysiology,  astronomy,  and  natural  philosophy,  are 
therefore  at  a  low  ebb.  The  instruction  given  in  their 
schools  is  almost  wholly  of  a  moral  and  political  com- 
plexion, being  designed  solely  to  teach  the  subjects  of 
the  Empire  their  duties.     Within  the  allotted  circle  all 


56 

are  educated,  all  must  be  educated.  According  to  Mr, 
Davis,  a  statute  was  in  existence  two  thousand  years  ago, 
which  required  that  every  town  and  village,  down  even 
to  a  few  families,  should  have  a  common  school ;  and  one 
work,  of  a  date  anterior  to  the  Christian  era,  speaks  of 
the  "  ancient  system  of  instruction."  There  are  annual 
examinations  in  the  provinces,  and  triennial  examinations 
at  Peking,  which  are  resorted  to  by  throngs  of  ambitious 
students.  The  whole  Empire  is  a  university,  a  mighty 
laboratory  of  scholars.  The  happy  men  who  pass  suc- 
cessfully through  the  several  ordeals  necessary  to  be  un- 
dergone,  are  loaded  with  distinctions.  They  are  feasted 
at  the  expense  of  the  nation ;  their  names  and  victories 
are  published  throughout  the  Empire  ;  they  are  courted 
and  caressed  ;  and  they  become,  ipso  facto,  eligible  to  all 
the  offices  within  the  gift  of  the  sovereign.  All  this  is 
that  the  Emperor  may  "  pluck  out  the  true  talent''  of  the 
land,  and  employ  it  in  the  administration  of  the  govern- 
ment. The  fourteen  thousand  civil  mandarins  are,  almost 
without  exception,  the  beaux  esprits — the  best  scholars 
—of  the  realm.  Educated  talent  here  enjoys  its  just  con- 
sideration. All  other  titles  to  respect,  all  other  qualifi- 
cations for  office,  are  held  as  naught  compared  with  this. 
This,  undoubtedly,  in  connexion  with  the  rigid  enforce- 
ment of  the  doctrine  of  responsibility,  is  the  true  secret 
of  the  greatness  and  prosperity,  the  stability  and  repose, 
of  the  Celestial  Empire.  For,  as  Dr.  Milne  truly  re- 
marks, they  are  the  ambitious  who  generally  overturn 
governments ;  but  in  China  there  is  a  road  open  to  the 
ambitious,  without  the  dreadful  alternative  of  revolution- 
izing the  country.  All  that  is  required  of  a  man  is  that 
he  should  give  some  proof  of  the  possession  of  superior 
abilities ;  not  an  unreasonable  requisition  certainly. 
Dr.  Morrison  has  given  a  very  curious  and  interesting 


37 

account  of  the  principles  of  study  upon  which  the  aspir- 
ants for  literary  and  political  honours  are  enjoined  to 
proceed.  There  exists,  it  would  seem,  a  work  which 
might  properly  enough  be  called  a  treatise  on  the  conduct 
of  the  understanding.  The  first  thing  needful  is  to 
"form  a  resolution."  This  must  be  "firm  and  persever- 
ing." Their  maxim  is  that  "  the  object  on  which  a  de- 
termined resolution  rests  must  succeed."  The  use  of 
common-place  books,  frequent  repetitions,  reflection, 
fixed  attention,  patient  plodding,  thoroughness,  the  mas- 
tery of  a  little  rather  than  the  skimming  over  of  much, 
the  diligent  improvement  of  scraps  of  time,  and  many 
other  excellent  rules,  are  earnestly  enjoined.  There  is  a 
a  vein  of  common  sense  and  practical  wisdom  running 
through  this  development  of  the  principles  of  mental  cul- 
ture, which  cannot  fail  to  increase  our  respect  for  the 
people  where  such  rules  prevail. 

The  Chinese  are  a  reading  people,  and  the  number  of 
their  published  works  is  very  considerable.  In  the  de- 
partments of  morals,  history,  biography,  the  drama,  poe- 
try, and  romance,  there  is  no  lack  of  writings,  "  such  as 
they  are."  Of  statistical  works  the  number  is  also  very 
large.  Their  novels  are  said  to  be,  many  of  them,  excel- 
lent pictures  of  the  national  manners.  The  plot  is  often 
very  complex,  the  incidents  natural,  and  the  characters 
well  sustained.  China  has  had,  too,  her  Augustan  age  of 
poetry.  It  is  remarkable  that  this  brilliant  epoch  in 
Chinese  letters  was  during  the  eighth  century  of  our  era, 
when  almost  the  whole  of  Europe  was  sunk  in  gross  igno- 
rance and  barbarism.  We  subjoin  a  single  specimen  of 
their  poetry,  in  a  touching  little  piece,  published  in  the 
second  volume  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Transactions,  and 
written  3000  years  ago.  Besides  the  pleasure  its  intrinsic 
beauty  will  afford,  it  offers  a  convincing  proof  of  the  sub- 


38 


stantial  identity  of  human  feelings  in  all  times  and  coun- 
tries. The  piece  bemoans  the  fate  of  a  maiden,  betroth- 
ed to  an  humbler  rival,  but  compelled  to  become  the  bride 
of  a  rich  and  powerful  suitor : — 


1. 

The  nest  yon  winged  artist  builds, 
Some  robber  bird  shall  tear  away  ; 

So  yields  her  hopes  the  affianced  maid, 
Some  wealthy  lord's  reluctant  prey. 

2. 

The  fluttering  bird  prepares  a  home, 
In  which  the  spoiler  soon  shall  dwell ; 

Forth  goes  the  weeping  bride,  constrained, 
A  hundred  cars  the  triumph  swell. 


Mourn  for  the  tiny  architect, 

A  stronger  bird  hath  ta'en  its  nest ; 
Mourn  for  the  hapless,  stolen  bride, 

How  vain  the  pomp  to  soothe  her  breast! 

In  their  education,  the  greatest  stress  is  in  the  incul- 
cation of  the  social  and  political  duties.  Their  teaching 
is  chiefly  by  authority.  Hence  the  great  use  made  of 
maxims.  These  are  suspended  upon  the  walls  of  every 
apartment,  where  they  are  constantly  seen  and  read  from 
early  childhood  to  decrepit  old  age.  They  say,  "  Good 
sayings  are  like  pearls  strung  together :  inscribe  them  on 
the  walls  of  your  dwelling,  and  regard  them  night  and 
day  as  wholesome  admonitions.''  Of  their  maxims  we 
have  numerous  specimens  in  this  Collection  of  Mr.  Dunn. 
They  are  suspended  upon  the  walls  of  several  of  the 
apartments,  and  upon  all  the  ce+timns.  We  have  before 
us  a  volume  of  these  apothegms,  selected,  compiled,  and 
translated  by  J.  F.  Davis,  Esq.     Mr.  D.  justly  remarks 


39 

that  as,  according  to  the  Chinese  proverb,  ^^a  man's  con- 
versation is  the  mirror  of  his  thoughts,  so  the  maxims  of 
a  people  may  be  considered  as  a  medium  which  reflects 
with  tolerable  accuracy  the  existing  state  of  their  man- 
ners and  ways  of  thinking/'  In  the  work  of  Mr.  D.  there 
is  both  a  literal  and  a  free  translation.  In  the  few  speci- 
mens subjoined,  we  shall  take  the  former  in  preference, 
as  affording  some  insight  into  the  grammatical  structure 
of  their  language,  as  well  as  their  modes  of  thinking: — 
"  Mulberry  slip  accords  with  its  youthful  bent."  "  Em- 
peror offending  against  the  laws,  with  people's  the  same 
crime  is."  "  Loving  your  child,  much  give  the  cudgel ; 
hating  your  child,  much  give  to  eat."  "  In  learning,  no 
aged  nor  youthful ;  learned  who  is,  is  the  first."  "  High 
talking  and  big  expressions  not  have  one  speck  of  true 
action."  "  Not  to  attend  to  small  actions  ultimately  in- 
volves great  virtue." 


XII.     Fourth  Wall  Case,  with  the  two  opposite. 

The  fourth  case  introduces  us  to  a  group  of  Chinese 
beauties.  We  have  here  three  young  ladies  of  rank,  in  full 
costume.  Their  hair,  which  is  done  up  on  the  back  of  the 
head  in  bunches,  and  fastened  with  two  bodkins  stuck  in 
crosswise,  is  gaily  adorned  with  WTcaths  of  flowers.  There 
is  considerable  variety  in  their  dresses,  but  they  are  all 
of  the  richest  materials,  and  magnificently  embroidered. 
They  are  exceedingly  modest  and  becoming,  concealing 
entirely  the  contour  of  the  person.  The  exposure  which 
fashion  allows  to  European  and  American  ladies,  would 
be  looked  upon  by  Chinese  women  as  a  flagrant  offence 
against  true  modesty.  The  ^^  golden  lilies,"  as  the  small 
feet  are  called,  figure,  we  cannot  say  ^^  largely,"  but 


40 

interestingly,  in  these  fair  ones.  Their  hands  are  very 
delicate ;  their  eyebrows  gracefully  arched ;  their  fea- 
tures regular  and  oval ;  their  noses  too  flat  for  beauty  ; 
and  the  whole  countenance,  though  rather  pretty,  and 
certainly  not  unamiable,  is  deficient  in  strength  of  ex- 
pression. Their  occupations  are  characteristic  ;  one  of 
ihem  is  fingering  a  guitar,  another  is  smoking,  while  the 
third  is  amusing  herself  with  a  fan.  From  the  waist  de- 
pends the  never  absent  tobacco-pouch,  elegant  in  mate- 
rial, form,  and  workmanship.  Each  has  three  plain  rings 
in  either  ear.  The  footstools  upon  which  their  "  golden 
lilies'^  rest,  are  covered  with  embroidered  silk. 

This  case  also  contains  two  female  domestics,  with  feet 
of  the  natural  size,  as  it  is  only  parents  of  the  wealthier 
sort  who  can  afford  to  their  daughters  the  luxury  of  small 
feet.  One  of  them  is  bringing  tea  to  her  mistress,  in  a 
cup  with  a  saucer-like  cover.  The  common  mode  of 
making  tea  in  China,  is  to  place  a  few  leaves  in  each  cup, 
and  pour  boiling  water  upon  them.  The  cups  are  always 
provided  with  tops,  to  preserve  the  delicate  aroma  of  the 
tea,  and  the  infusion  is  drunk  without  admixture  of  any 
kind. 

The  women  of  China,  as  in  all  other  countries  not 
blessed  with  Christianity,  occupy  a  rank  in  society  far 
inferior  to  that  of  the  men.  Nevertheless,  their  place  on 
the  social  scale  is  higher,  their  influence  greater,  and 
their  treatment  better,  than  can  be  predicated  of  the  sex 
in  any  other  Asiatic  nation.  Of  school  education  the 
mass  receive  none,  though  there  are  occasionally  shining 
exceptions ;  but  Gutzlaff  ascribes  to  them  the  possession 
of  a  large  share  of  common  sense,  and  says  that  they  make 
devoted  wives  and  tender  mothers. 

The  generality  of  Chinese  ladies  cannot  boast  of  great 
beauty.     They  make  a  free  use  of  rouge,  and  this  article 


41 

is  always  among  the  presents  to  a  bride  on  the  occasion 
of  her  nuptials.  In  what  circumstances  the  ^^  golden 
lilies/'  the  highest  of  personal  attractions,  originated, 
is  not  known.  The  distortion  is  produced  by  turn- 
ing the  toes  under  the  soles  of  the  feet  at  birth,  and 
confining  them  in  that  position  by  tight  bandages,  till 
their  growth  is  effectually  checked.  The  bandaging 
is  continued  for  several  years,  during  which  the  poor 
child  suffers  the  most  excruciating  tortures.  This  is, 
no  doubt,  an  absurd,  cruel,  and  wicked  practice ;  but 
those  who  dwell  in  glass  houses  should  not  throw  stones. 
It  is  not  a  whit  worse,  nay,  we  maintain  that  it  is  less 
irrational  and  injurious,  than  the  abomination  of  tight 
lacing.  No  vital  part  is  here  attacked,  no  vital  functions 
disordered  ;  and,  on  the  score  of  taste,  if  the  errors  of 
nature  are  to  be  rectified,  and  her  graceful  lines  and 
proportions  improved,  we  see  not  why  the  process  of 
amendment  may  not  be  as  reasonably  applied  to  the  feet 
as  to  the  waist.  Almost  every  family  in  China,  however 
poor,  has  one  daughter  with  the  small  feet. 

Head-dresses  of  natural  and  artificial  flowers  are  always 
worn.  No  woman,  says  Sir  George  Staunton,  is  so  poor 
as  to  neglect,  or  so  aged  as  to  give  up,  adorning  herself 
in  this  manner.  The  culture  of  flowers  for  this  purpose 
is  a  regular  occupation  throughout  the  country. 

Among  the  accomplishments  of  the  Chinese  ladies, 
music,  painting  on  silk,  and  embroidery,  hold  the  chief 
places.  The  musical  instruments  are  various  in  kind  and 
material,  and  a  supply  of  them  is  held  to  be  an  indispen- 
sable part  of  the  furniture  of  a  lady's  boudoir.  Painting 
on  silk  is  a  very  common  recreation  ;  and  embroidery  is 
an  almost  universal  accomplishment. 

Of  the  two  cases  opposite,  one  contains  a  variety  of 
highly   interesting   curiosities.     The   most   beautiful    is 

6 


42 

a  model  of  the  celebrated  flower-boat,  with  all  its  fur- 
niture and  decorations  complete.  Nothing  of  the  kind 
could  well  be  imagined  more  rich,  gay,  and  showy. 
The  central  portion  forms  what  may  be  called  a  suite  of 
drawing-rooms,  enclosed  with  the  usual  carved  and  gilded 
screen-work  of  the  country,  and  provided  with  elegant 
miniature  furniture.  The  kitchen  is  in  the  hinder  part, 
where  are  seen  models  of  all  the  utensils  used.  The  stern 
is  as  gay  as  the  gayest  trappings  can  make  it,  and  near 
the  bows  there  are  representations  of  the  flower- pots  and 
flowers,  from  which  the  barge  receives  its  name.  This 
boat  is  much  employed  for  pleasure  excursions,  particu- 
larly in  the  calm  summer  evenings ;  and  it  is  also  some- 
times used  as  a  dwelling-place  by  a  not  very  reputable 
class  of  females. 

In  the  lower  section  of  this  case  there  is  a  model  of  a 
bridge,  with  hve  arches,  the  original  of  which  is  of  gra- 
nite, and  must  be  a  handsome  structure.  The  arches 
are  formed  on  strictly  scientific  principles,  though  the 
bridge  is  several  hundred  years  old. 

Besides  these  large  articles,  there  are,  in  the  case  we 
are  describing,  an  air-gun  with  wooden  barrel ;  a  duck- 
gun  with  matchlock  ;  a  curious  double  sword,  capable  of 
being  used  as  one,  and  having  but  one  sheath  ;  specimens 
of  Chinese  bullets,  shot,  powder,  powder-horns,  and 
match-ropes ;  numerous  specimens  of  tobacco  and  opium 
pipes ;  samples  of  divers  kinds  of  fruits ;  two  carved 
ivory  balls  ;  and  several  small  wooden  stands,  of  beautiful 
patterns  and  elegant  workmanship,  made  for  ornamental 
display  on  parlour  tables,  book  cases,  &c. 

The  national  taste  for  tobacco  is  well  represented  by 
the  large  collection  of  pipes.  The  fondness  of  the  Chi- 
nese for  this  exotic  weed  is  not  less  strong  than  for  the 
most  celebrated  indigenous  plant  of  their  own  country. 


43 

nor  its  use  less  prevalent.  It  is  used  alike  by  men  and 
women,  rich  and  poor,  high  and  low,  old  and  young,  for 
the  soothing,  tranquilizing  effect  it  produces  upon  the 
mind.  The  Chinese  tobacco  is  of  a  mild,  agreeable  fla- 
vour, and  in  colour  is  almost  white.  The  stems  of  the 
pipes  are  generally  long,  slender  pieces  of  bamboo ;  the 
mouth-pieces  amber,  ivory,  glass,  &c.;  and  the  bowls,  of 
some  metallic  substance,  more  or  less  valuable  according 
to  the  wealth  or  taste  of  the  owner,  arc  commonly  mode- 
rate in  their  dimensions.  Pipes  which  have  been  used  a 
long  time  are  usually  preferred,  *^and  the  age  of  a  pipe- 
stem  is  a  pretty  certain  proof  of  its  valye.^'  Opium  is 
also  smoked  in  large  quantities,  but  the  pipe  used  for  this 
drug  differs  essentially  from  that  employed  in  tobacco- 
smoking. 

Carved  ivory  balls  have  become  common,  but  it  is  rare 
to  see  as  fine  a  specimen  as  one  of  those  in  this  case.  This 
is  composed  of  seventeen  balls,  one  within  the  other, 
covered  with  ornamental  carving  of  the  most  delicate 
kind.  How  this  can  be  done  is  a  problem  which  has 
puzzled  Europe  for  ages.  It  was  long  supposed  that 
there  was  some  deception  about  it,  but  it  is  now  ascer- 
tained that  the  whole  is  carved  out  of  a  solid  block  of 
ivory,  by  the  slow  and  patient  pains-taking  of  plodding 
ingenuity.  In  the  art  of  carving,  as  well  as  in  that  of 
embroidering,  the  Chinese  undoubtedly  excel  all  other 
nations.  Witness  their  tables,  screens,  ivory  balls,  and 
another  article  less  known,  but  evincing  equal  ingenuity 
and  skill ;  we  mean  the  snuff-bottle.  These  are  often  of 
rock  crystal,  and  hollowed  into  perfect  bottles  of  about 
two  inches  in  length,  through  openings  in  the  neck  not  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter ;  and,  what  is  more  sur- 
prising, the  inside  is  inscribed  with  minute  charactei-s,  so 
as  to  be  read  through  the  transparent  substance. 


44 

The  case  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  column  is  filled 
with  Chinese  shoes.  The  most  curious  are  those  for  the 
golden  lilies,  some  of  them  not  more  than  three  inches  in 
length.  The  others  are  extremely  clumsy,  with  soles 
varying  from  half  an  inch  to  three  or  four  inches  in 
thickness. 


XIII.     Fifth  Wall  Case. 

In  the  fifth  case  we  have  a  specimen  of  Chinese  thea- 
tricals. There  are  three  figures  of  actors, — an  adult  and 
two  children, — a  gorgeous  state  umbrella,  a  number  of 
theatrical  caps,  and  a  sample  of  embroidered  tapestry. 
The  dresses  and  adornments  of  the  actors  are  of  rich 
materials,  elegantly  wrought. 

Theatrical  exhibitions  are  favourite  amusements  of  the 
Chinese,  and,  as  among  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans, 
they  are  sometimes  connected  with  religion.  The  esti- 
mation in  which  they  are  held  may  be  inferred  from  a 
single  fact.  The  money  expended  upon  them  in  one 
year  at  Macao,  a  place  where  there  are  but  few  wealthy 
Chinese,  amounted  to  nearly  seven  thousand  dollars. 

It  is  remarkable  that  there  are  no  regular  theatres. 
The  actors  are  literally  vagabonds,  strolling  about  from 
city  to  city,  and  from  province  to  province.  In  Canton, 
for  example,  the  inhabitants  of  a  certain  quarter  club  to- 
gether and  make  up  a  purse,  with  which  a  company  is 
engaged.  A  temporary  theatre  is  erected,  and  the  whole 
neighbourhood  is  at  liberty  to  attend.  When  the  quid  pro 
quo  has  been  rendered  by  the  actors,  they  move  off  to 
another  quarter,  and  the  same  thing  is  repeated.  It  is  cus- 
tomary to  employ  play-actors  at  private  entertainments, 
which  are  never  considered  complete  without  a  theatrical 


45 

exhibition.  Upon  such  occasions  a  list  of  plays  is  handed 
to  the  most  distinguished  guest,  who  selects  whichever 
best  jumps  with  his  fancy.  The  principal  inns  and  all 
large  private  establishments  have  a  room  expressly  for 
this  purpose.  Females  are  not  allowed  to  appear  on  the 
stage. 

Some  notice  of  the  other  national  amusements  will  not 
be  out  of  place  here.  The  Chinese  have  fewer  holidays 
than  perhaps  any  other  people  ;  yet  they  have  a  number 
of  festivals,  which  are  enjoyed  with  a  keen  relish.  The 
chief  of  these  is  the  Feast  of  the  New  Year,  a  species  of 
Saturnalia,  when  the  whole  Empire  abandons  itself  to  a 
phrenzy  of  merriment.  All  labour  is  intermitted  for 
several  days  ;  public  business  is  suspended  ;  servants  are 
dressed  out  in  all  the  finery  at  their  command ;  visits  of 
ceremony  and  presents  are  interchanged  among  friends  ; 
the  rites  of  religion  are  conducted  with  unusual  pomp ; 
and,  in  short,  gaiety  and  pleasure  are  the  reigning  divi- 
nities. 

The  Feast  of  Lanterns,  which  occurs  soon  after  this, 
is  a  general  illumination  throughout  the  Empire.  The 
object  seems  to  be  to  afford  an  occasion  for  the  display  of 
ingenuity  and  taste  in  the  construction  and  mechanism  of 
an  infinite  variety  of  lanterns.  It  is  computed  that,  upon 
this  occasion,  there  are  not  less  than  200,000,000  blazing 
at  the  same  time  in  different  parts  of  the  Empire. 

There  are  several  agricultural  festivals ;  an  annual  trial 
of  skill  in  boat- racing ;  a  festival  in  honour  of  the  dead  ; 
and  a  sort  of  general  thanksgiving,  a  holiday  highly  en- 
joyed, which  takes  place  in  September,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  business  year. 

Gaming  prevails  among  the  lower  orders,  but  so  much 
infamy  attaches  to  gamblers,  that  government  ofiicers  and 
the  more  respectable  of  the  people  are  free  from  this  taint. 


46 

Dominoes,  cards,  dice,  and  chess,  are  favourite  games. 
The  venders  of  fruits  often  gamble  with  purchasers  in 
the  following  manner: — A  boy  wishes  a  half  dozen 
oranges.  The  fruit  and  half  the  price  demanded  for  it 
are  laid  down  together.  Recourse  is  then  had  to  the 
dice-box.  If  the  urchin  throws  the  highest  number,  he 
pockets  his  money  again,  and  gets  the  fruit  for  nothing ; 
if  the  seller,  he  in  like  manner  sweeps  the  stakes,  and  the 
disappointed  gamester  may  whistle  for  oranges,  or  try  his 
fortune  elsewhere.  Quails  are  trained  for  fighting,  and 
even  a  species  of  cricket,  two  of  which  are  placed  in  a 
bowl  together,  and  irritated  till  they  tear  each  other  in 
pieces.  Fire- works,  and  the  tricks  of  jugglers,  tumblers, 
rope-dancers,  &c.  are  greatly  relished. 

Of  out-door  games,  the  most  popular  is  kite-flying. 
In  this  the  Chinese  excel.  They  show  their  superiority 
as  well  in  the  curious  construction  of  their  kites,  as  in 
the  height  to  which  they  make  them  mount.  By  means 
of  round  holes,  supplied  with  vibrating  cords,  their  kites 
are  made  to  produce  a  loud  humming  noise,  like  that  of 
a  top.  A  game  at  shuttle-cock,  in  which  the  feet  serve 
as  battledores,  is  also  a  favourite  "  field  sport."  In  Pe- 
king, during  the  winter,  skating,  and  other  amusements 
on  the  ice,  in  which  the  Emperor  takes  a  part,  are  among 
the  national  pastimes. 


XIV.     Three  Cases  in  the  inter- columniations^  contain- 
ing Ornamental  Articles, 

The  contents  of  these  cases  will  be  examined  with 
special  interest  by  the  ladies.  Each  is  divided  into  three 
horizontal  compartments,  all  filled  with  articles  of  virtu 
and  pieces  of  ornamental  furniture,  of  wood,  stone,  jade. 


47 

ivory,  metal,  &c.  The  little  stands,  inlaid  with  marble 
or  porcelain,  are  numerous,  and  the  variety  of  their  forms 
can  only  be  equalled  by  the  beauty  of  their  proportions, 
and  the  exquisite  style  in  which  they  are  finished. 

In  the  first  of  these  cases  there  is  a  curious  ornament, 
rare  even  in  China,  and  of  great  cost.  It  is  thus  de- 
scribed by  Mr.  Davis : — ''  The  ornament  which  has 
sometimes,  for  want  of  a  better  name,  been  called  a 
sceptre,  is,  in  fact,  an  emblem  of  amity  and  good  will,  of 
a  shape  less  bent  than  the  letter  S,  about  eighteen  inches 
in  length,  and  cut  from  the  jade  or  i/u  stone.  It  is  called 
joo-eCf  'sls  you  wish,'  and  is  simply  exchanged  as  a  costly 
mark  of  friendship ;  but  that  it  had  a  religious  origin 
seems  indicated  by  the  sacred  flower  of  the  lotus  (Nym- 
phaea  nelumbo)  being  generally  carved  on  the  superior 
end.'' 

In  the  lower  compartment  of  the  second  case  there  is 
a  framed  specimen  of  a  singular  kind  of  stone  found  in 
some  parts  of  China,  which,  when  polished,  presents  rude 
resemblances  of  birds,  insects,  &c,  ;  and  also  a  specimen 
of  painted  glass,  the  subject  of  the  painting  being  of  an 
astrological  nature. 

The  middle  section  contains  a  handsome  model  of  a 
Chinese  settee.  These  are  sometimes  made  with  marble 
seats  and  backs,  for  summer  use,  as  may  be  seen  in  ano- 
ther model  in  the  third  case. 

The  gayest  portion  of  this  case  is  the  upper  division. 
The  visiter  will  be  first  attracted  by  two  splendid  speci- 
mens of  the  shell  of  the  pearl  oyster,  the  surfaces  of  which 
are  carved  after  the  peculiar  fashion  of  the  Chinese.  On 
one  of  them  there  is  a  bee,  ingeniously  wrought  out  of 
gold  wire,  a  novel  and  brilliant  imitation  of  that  useful 
insect. 

There  are  several  strings  of  beads,  of  odoriferous  wood, 


48 

some  of  them  tastefully  enclosed  in  sewing  silk.  These 
are  much  esteemed  in  China,  and  are  worn  by  both  sexes. 

We  have  also  in  this  case,  two  neat  hand  mirrors,  with 
carved  ivory  backs  ;  several  groups  of  figures  in  ivory  of 
men  and  animals ;  two  handsome  chop-stick  cases,  with 
their  appropriate  contents ;  besides  a  variety  of  other 
articles  peculiar  to  the  country.  But  the  most  graceful 
of  these  unique  ornaments,  are  certain  specimens  of  fila- 
gree fruit,  made  of  silver  wire,  attenuated  to  the  last  de- 
gree of  fineness.  The  patience  and  skill  evinced  in  them, 
and  their  delicate  beauty,  elicit  the  highest  admiration. 

A  characteristic  apparatus  remains  to  be  signalized  and 
explained.  It  consists  of  a  silver  tooth-pick,  ear-pick, 
and  tongue-scraper,  worn  in  the  girdle  around  the  waist, 
to  which  it  is  attached  by  means  of  a  chain  of  the  same 
material. 

The  lower  section  of  the  third  case  is  taken  up  with  a 
fanningmill,  which  bears  a  close  resemblance  to  those  in 
use  among  us.  The  other  two  divisions  contain  snufi*- 
bottles,  of  various  patterns  and  materials ;  elegant  silken 
pocket-books,  some  of  them  in  shape  much  like  a  lady's 
reticule;  tobacco  and  other  pouches;  a  cylindrical  pen- 
holder, made  of  the  bark  of  a  tree ;  specimens  of  the 
Chinese  cashy^  the  only  coin  they  have  ;  a  pair  of  specta- 
cles, with  their  silken  case ;  together  with  stands,  carved 
images,  &c.  &c.  There  is  likewise  what  the  Chinese 
call  a  suan-pan, — calculating-dish, — ^^  having  balls  of 
wood  strung  upon  wires  in  separate  columns,  of  which 
one  column  represents  units,  with  a  decimal  increase  and 
diminution  to  the  left  and  right,  as  in  our  system  of  enu- 
meration.    Each  ball  above  the  longitudinal  division  of 

*  Eight  of  them  are  about  equal  to  our  cent.  They  have  a  square  hole 
in  the  middle,  and  are  carried  on  strings. 


49 

the  board  represents  five,  and  each  below  it  stands  for 
one.  In  anthmetical  operations,  the  above  machine  is 
always  used.*'* 


XV.     Sixih  WaU  Case. 

This  ease  contains  several  highly  interesting  figures ; 
viz :  two  priests ;  a  gentleman  in  raooraing  apparel ;  his 
servant;  and,  in  the  back  ground,  two  women  of  the 
middling  classes,  with  a  little  boy.  The  figure  on  the 
viater^s  left  is  a  priest  of  Bodha^  or  Fo.  He  is  in  full 
canonicals,  connsting  of  a  loose  robe  of  dari^-coloured 
2»lk,  over  which  is  thrown  a  sort  of  surplice,  made  of 
yellow  gauze  linen.  His  entire  head  is  shorn,  but  the 
top  of  it  is  covered  with  a  ring-like  cap.  To  the  right 
of  the  Badhist  is  a  priest  of  the  Taoa  sect,  also  fully  ap- 
parelled. Over  loose  trowscrs  of  some  daA-cokwrcd  stoff, 
he  wears  a  gown  of  yeUow  crape,  variously  ornamented 
on  the  breast.  His  head  is  also  shaved,  except  a  small 
spot  just  hack  of  the  crown.  The  hair  is  not  braided  into 
a  cae,  hot  done  up  in  a  bunch,  and  confined,  by  means 
of  bodkins,  within  a  kind  of  wooden  case.  Each  has  an 
rosary  about  the  neck,  with  a  smaller  one  in  his 


The  two  sects  fHiose  ministers  are  thus  represented, 
are,  properiy  speaking,  the  only  rdigiaut  sects  in  China. 
There  is,  indeed,  a  third — the  Confucian — but  its  doc- 
trines coBstitote  a  system  ratiier  of  philosophy  than  of 
thcfdogy.  It  has  M»  ptiodiood  hot  the  Emperor  and  his 
civilmaBdariiis,aotcmplci,aadnoi«s<nbrworslnp.  The 
Taoo,orBatioiial,re^poB,isind%;eMNisinChiBa«   Laoa- 

7 


50 

tze,  the  founder  of  the  sect,  has  been  called  the  Epicurus 
of  China ;  and,  in  some  points,  there  would  seem  to  be  a 
resemblance  between  the  doctrines  of  the  Chinese  sage 
and  the  Grecian  philosopher.  The  intelligible  part  of  his 
system  consists  in  the  inculcation  of  a  contempt  of  riches, 
fame,  pleasure,  and  all  worldly  distinctions.  He  placed 
the  chief  good  in  tranquillity  and  self-enjoyment.  Along 
with  these  dogmas,  there  is  mixed  up  much  that  is  mys- 
tical, puerile,  and  silly.  The  priests  of  the  Taou  sect 
pretend  to  a  knowledge  of  alchymy,  practice  magic,  and 
seem,  in  fact,  to  be  a  set  of  mere  cheats  and  jugglers. 

Budhism,  or  the  worship  of  Fo,  was  imported  from 
India  about  the  middle  of  the  first  century  of  our  era. 
With  the  exception  of  Christianity  and  Mohammedanism, 
this  religion  is  more  widely  disseminated  than -any  other. 
It  prevails  in  Thibet,  Siam,  Ava,  Tartary,  Japan,  Cochin- 
China,  and,  to  a  considerable  extent,  in  China  Proper. 
The  leading  dogma  of  the  Budhists  is  the  metempsy- 
chosis ;  and  the  consummation  of  felicity  held  out  to  de- 
votees, is  annihilation.  Their  five  principal  moral  rules 
are — 1.  Do  not  kill  any  living  creature.  2.  Do  not 
marry.  3.  Do  not  steal.  4.  Speak  not  falsely.  5.  Drink 
no  wine. — The  priests  of  this  sect  live  in  a  kind  of 
monasteries,  connected  with  the  temple  of  Fo,  practise 
celibacy,  fast,  pray  for  the  souls  of  the  dead,  use  holy 
water,  count  beads  in  saying  their  prayers,  worship 
relics,  and  pray  in  an  unknown  tongue.  Tl»e  Budhists, 
and  many  of  the  Chinese  not  belonging  to  this  sect,  keep 
what  may  be  called  an  account  current  vyith  heaven,  upon 
a  system  of  double  entry.  Every  good  act  is  set  dovvu  at 
so  much  on  the  credit  side ;  every  bad  one,  at  an  esta- 
blished valuation,  on  the  debtor  side ;  and  the  books  are 
balanced,  like  other  account  books,  annually.  This  sect 
does  not  flourish  under  the  present  dynasty.     Its  minis- 


51 

ters  are  veritable  mendicants^  ignorant,  grovelling,  lazy, 
and  without  influence. 

The  only  religious  community  in  China  which  seems 
entitled  to  any  portion  of  our  respect,  is  that  which  at- 
taches itself  to  the  doctrines  of  Confucius ;  and  this,  as 
already  hinted,  is  rather  a  sect  in  philosophy,  than  reli- 
gion. The  doctrines  of  the  Confucians  are  embodied  in 
nine  classical  or  sacred  books,  called  "  The  Four  Books," 
and  ^^The  Five  Canonical  Works.''  These  contain  a 
complete  body  of  rules,  first,  for  the  government*  of  one's 
self,  and  the  regulation  of  social  intercourse ;  secondly, 
for  the  government  of  a  family,  and  the  education  of  a 
community ;  and  thirdly,  for  the  government  of  an  em- 
pire, and  the  management  of  its  complex  machinery. 
The  sententious  brevity  of  style  that  characterizes  these 
celebrated  productions,  renders  the  meaning  often  ob- 
scure, and  has  induced  a  mass  of  commentaries,  of  formi- 
dable bulk  ;  but  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  they  contain 
many  maxims  just  in  sentiment,  wise  in  policy,  and  ad- 
mirably suited  to  the  genius  of  the  people, — maxims 
which  have  conferred  merited  immortality  upon  the 
memory  of  their  author,  and  done  more  for  the  stability 
of  the  Empire  than  all  other  causes  combined.  Confu- 
cius, however,  avoided,  almost  entirely,  strictly  reli- 
gions subjects.  Dr.  Morrison  says  that  he  admitted  he 
did  not  understand  much  concerning  the  gods;  and  he 
adds,  that  his  most  celebrated  commentator,  Choo-foo- 
tsze,  aflirmed  that  sufficient  knov^rledge  was  not  possessed 
to  say  positively  that  they  existed.  The  system  of  Con- 
fucius is  the  state  religion.  The  Emperor  is  Pontifex 
Maximus,  the  mandarins  form  the  only  priesthood,  and 
the  whole  body  of  literati  are  its  adherents. 

The  figures,  in  this  case,  representing  mourners,  are 
habited  in  coarse  sack-cloth,  the  universal  mourning  ap- 


52 

parel  in  China.  The  shoes  are  white  ;  the  hair  and 
beard  are  permitted  to  grow  unshaven  ;  and  an  odd  spe- 
cies of  head-gear  surmounts  the  cranium.  The  full 
period  of  mourning  for  a  parent  is  three  years,  but  this 
is  commonly  reduced  in  practice  to  twenty-seven  months; 
a  shorter  period  is  allotted  for  other  relations.  Three 
years  must  elapse  after  the  death  of  a  parent  before  a 
child  is  permitted  to  marry.  On  the  death  of  an  Em- 
peror, his  hundreds  of  millions  of  subjects  mourn  for 
him  exactly  as  children  do  for  a  parent.  All  officers 
of  government  take  the  ball  and  crimson  silk  from  their 
caps. 


XVI.     Seventh    Wall   Case,     with    the   smaller    Cases 

opposite. 

This  case  offers  to  our  observation  some  queer  speci- 
mens of  Chinese  life.  We  have  in  it  an  itinerant  barber, 
shoemaker,  and  blacksmith,  and  two  boat-women,  one  of 
whom  is  carrying  an  infant  on  her  back.  The  barbers 
in  China  are  a  numerous  class.  Every  town  is  thronged 
with  them.  The  reason  is,  that,  as  the  head,  as  well  as 
face,  is  shaved,  no  Chinaman  ever  shaves  himself.  The 
barbel's  are  all  ambulatory.  Each  carries  his  shop  on  his 
back,  and  performs  his  operations  tonsorial  in  the  open 
street.  The  usual  implements  are  a  stool,  provided  with 
a  case  of  drawers,  and  a  kind  of  tub,  with  a  small  char- 
coal furnace  and  a  basin.  We  have  the  apparatus  here 
complete.  The  operation  is  usually  performed  in  perfect 
silence,  a  fact  meriting  the  attention  of  our  own  practi- 
tioners in  this  line.  The  razor  is  a  clumsy-looking  affair, 
but  is  said  to  shave  sufficiently  well.  It  is  sharpened  on 
iron.     No  soap  is  used,  the  beard  being  softened  by  the 


53 

application  of  hot  water  alone.  The  compensation  is  left 
entirely  to  the  employer's  generosity ;  it  is  commonly 
from  five  to  ten  cash. 

The  ambulatory  shoemaker,  with  his  rude  instruments, 
and  his  spectacles,  resembling  those  with  which  idle  boys 
in  school  are  sometimes  punished,  is  a  study  for  a  painter. 
He  carries  with  him  in  a  basket  wherever  he  goes,  all 
his  implements,  together  with  his  whole  stock  in  trade. 
A  fan  and  a  pipe,  without  which,  it  would  almost  seem, 
a  Chinaman  could  not  exist,  complete  his  equipment. 

The  visiter  will  notice  the  novel  manner,  in  which  our 
shoemaker's  spectacles  are  kept  in  their  place.  This  is 
effected  by  no  greater  expenditure  of  ingenuity  than  is 
involved  in  passing  a  loop  fastened  to  the  ends  of  the 
spectacles  round  each  ear.  They  are  sometimes  retain- 
ed in  their  position  by  silver  cords  slung  over  the  ears, 
to  which  small  weights  are  attached,  to  preserve  the  equi- 
librium^  The  glasses,  or  rather  crystals  (for  rock  crys- 
tal, ground  with  the  powder  of  corundum,  supplies  the 
place  of  glass,)  are  perfectly  circular  in  shape,  and  of 
enormous  dimensions,  which  gives  the  wearer  a  very  sa- 
pient appearance. 

By  the  side  of  the  honest  cobler,  we  have  an  itinerant 
blacksmith, — par  nobile  fratrum.  He  also,  when  in- 
clined to  try  his  fortune  in  a  new  place,  stows  forge, 
bellows,  anvil,  tools,  c^c,  into  a  basket,  which  he  slings 
on  his  shoulder,  and  thus  takes  up  his  line  of  march. 
This  figure,  with  the  implements  and  appliances  that 
surround  it,  will  attract  special  notice.  The  anvil,  in- 
stead of  having  a  flat  surface,  is  slightly  rounded  on  the 
top,  which  causes  the  iron  to  extend  more  readily  under 
the  hammer.  The  bellows  is  a  hollow  cylinder  with  a 
piston,  so  contrived  that  the  blast  produced  by  it  is  con- 
tinuous.   The  Chinese  have  the  art  of  repairing  cast  iron 


54 

vessels  when  injured, — an  art,  so  far  as  we  know,  not 
possessed  by  any  other  nation. 

The  female  figures  in  this  case  represent  a  large  class 
in  China,  viz.  the  boat-women.  One  of  them  has  an  in- 
fant on  her  back,  who  finds  a  convenient  handle  to  hold 
by  in  her  long  plaited  cue.  She  carries  also  a  painted 
block  of  wood,  which  it  is  usual  to  attach  to  the  waist  of 
young  children  who  live  in  the  boats,  to  prevent  them 
from  sinking  in  case  of  falling  overboard,  till  help  can  be 
afforded. 

The  huge  bamboo  hats  suspended  on  the  wall  of  this 
case,  deserve  to  be  noticed.  They  are  a  capital  article 
for  a  hot  or  rainy  day,  but  would  not  be  so  convenient  in 
a  whirlwind.  The  bamboo  is  as  useful  to  the  Chinese  as 
the  reindeer  is  to  the  Laplander.  Of  this  gigantic  grass, 
or  reed,  there  are  numerous  varieties,  and  the  uses  to 
which  it  has  been  put  are  quite  as  various.  Hats, 
baskets,  shields,  umbrellas,  ornamental  furniture,  ropes, 
paper,  poles  for  scaffolding,  temporary  theatres,  &c., 
are  constructed  from  it.  The  young  shoots  are  used  for 
food,  being  boiled  or  stewed,  like  asparagus;  and  sweet- 
meats are  sometimes  made  of  them.  The  tubes  serve  as 
pipe-stems,  and  for  every  purpose  wherein  strength, 
combined  with  lightness  is  required,  they  are  admirably 
suited,  being  formed  upon  the  same  principle  as  the 
bones  of  birds.  Farmers  make  great  use  of  the  bamboo, 
many  of  their  implements  being  formed  of  it;  and  a 
silicious  concretion,  found  in  the  joints,  is  an  item  in  the 
Chinese  materia  medica. 

The  cases  opposite  to  this  contain  specimens  in  Chi- 
nese Natural  History,  chiefly  denizens  of  tlie  water. 


55 


XVII.     The  Silk  Mercer's  Shop. 

This  is  in  the  north-east  corner  of  the  saloon.  It  is 
much  larger  than  any  of  the  cases  hitherto  noticed,  and 
has  been  arranged  so  as  to  afford  an  exact  idea  of  a 
Chinese  retail  establishment.  The  scene  which  it  offers 
to  our  view,  is,  to  our  taste,  more  life-like  than  any 
thing  else  in  the  Collection.  Two  purchasers  have  been 
placed  at  the  counter,  one  of  whom  is  scrutinizing  a 
piece  of  silk  that  lies  before  him.  The  owner,  behind 
the  counter,  is  carelessly  leaning  forward,  and  intent  on 
casting  an  account  on  the  ''  calculating  dish,"  while  his 
clerk  is  busy  making  entries  in  the  book,  in  doing  which 
he  shows  us  the  Chinese  mode  of  holding  a  pen,  or  rather 
brush,  which  is  perpendicularly  between  the  thumb  and 
all  the  fingers.  A  servant  is  preparing  breakfast.  A 
circular,  eight-legged  table^  very  similar  to  those  used 
by  our  great-grandfathei^,  is  spread  in  the  centre  of  the 
shop.  Among  its  furniture,  the  ivory  chop-sticks  are 
the  most  novel.  On  the  visiter's  right  hand,  sits  a  gen- 
tleman with  a  pipe,  apparently  a  chance-comer,  ^^  just 
dropped  in''  about  meal  time;  on  the  left,  a  blind  beg- 
gar stands  beating  two  bamboo  sticks  against  each  other, 
an  operation  with  which  he  continues  to  annoy  all  whom 
he  visits,  till  he  is  relieved  by  some  trifling  gratuity, 
usually  a  single  cash.  A  gilt  image  of  Fo  is  inserted  in 
the  front  part  of  the  counter,  and  a  small  covered  tub 
filled  with  tea,  with  a  few  cups  near  by,  stands  on  the 
counter,  from  which  customers  are  always  invited  to 
help  themselves. 

The  merchants  and  shopkeepers  of  Canton,  are  prompt, 
active,  obliging,  and  able.  They  can  do  an  immense 
deal  of  business  in  a  short  time,  and  all  without  noise, 


56 

bustle,  or  disorder.  Their  goods  are  arranged  in  the 
most  perfect  manner,  and  nothing  is  ever  out  of  its  place. 
These  traits  assimilate  them  to  the  more  enterprising  of 
the  western  nations,  and  place  them  in  prominent  con- 
trast with  the  rest  of  the  Asiatics.  It  is  confidently  as- 
serted, by  those  who  have  had  the  best  opportunities  of 
judging,  that,  as  business  men,  they  are  in  advance  of 
Spanish,  Italian,  and  Portuguese  merchants. 

It  has  been  charged  upon  the  whole  body  of  Chinese 
dealers,  that  they  will  cheat  and  deceive,  whenever  an 
opportunity  falls  in  their  way.  That  there  is  much  dis- 
honesty in  China,  particularly  among  the  inferior  traders 
and  lower  orders  of  people,  it  would  be  folly  to  deny. 
Some  of  the  shops  have  the  word  Pouhoa — "  no  cheating 
here'' — in  large  characters  over  the  door  ;  and  on  the 
masts  of  the  canal  boats,  in  which  the  poorer  people 
travel,  there  is  generally  pasted  this  caution  : — ^'  Kin 
shin  ho  paou^^ — ^^  Mind  your  purses.''  But  there  can 
be  as  little  doubt  that  injustice  has  been  done  the  Chinese 
by  the  sweeping  charges  of  corruption  levelled  at  their 
merchants.  We  have  conversed  with  several  American 
merchants,  who  resided  many  years  at  Canton — particu- 
larly Mr.  Cushing,  of  Boston,  and  Mr.  Dunn,  of  Phila- 
delphia— and  their  testimony  is,  that  the  higher  class  of 
merchants  there,  are  as  honourable  a  body  of  business- 
men as  exists  in  any  country,  that  a  contract,  though 
merely  verbal,  is  always  held  by  them  to  be  binding,  and 
that,  in  short,  there  are  fewer  of  the  tricks  of  trade  among 
the  Chinese,  than  in  some  countries  where  the  pure  light 
of  Christianity  ought,  long  since,  to  have  produced  a 
different  state  of  things.  There  is  a  variety  of  amusing 
inscriptions  on  the  scrolls  hung  up  in  the  interior  of  some 
of  the  shops,  which  serve  at  the  same  time  to  mark  the 
thrifty  habits  of  the  traders.     A  few  specimens  are  sub- 


57 

joined  : — "  Gossiping  and  long  sitting  injure  business." 
"  Former  customers  have  inspired  caution — no  credit 
given. '^  ^^A  small  stream  always  flowing.''  ^' Goods 
genuine,  prices  true."  "  Trade  circling  like  a  wheel," 
&c. 

The  sight  of  the  breakfast  table,  induces  natural- 
ly a  few  observations  on  the  articles  of  food  and  drink 
used  by  this  people.  The  wealthier  Chinese  are  much 
addicted  to  gastronomic  pleasures,  and  are  as  deli- 
cate in  their  tastes  as  any  other  epicures  ;  but  pinching 
poverty  makes  the  mass  as  little  fastidious  as  can  well  be 
conceived.  They  make  little  use  of  beef  or  mutton, 
owing  to  the  scarcity  of  pasturage.  Of  animal  food,  the 
most  univei-sal  is  pork.  Their  maxim  is,  "  The  scholar 
forsakes  not  his  books,  nor  the  poor  man  his  pig."  Im- 
mense quantities  of  fish  are  consumed.  Ducks  are  reared 
in  large  numbers,  and  wild  fowl,  of  various  species,  are 
abundant.  The  flesh  of  dogs,  cats,  rats,  and  mice,  en- 
ters into  the  bill  of  fare  of  the  Chinese  poor.  The  larvae 
of  the  sphinx-moth  and  a  grub  bred  in  the  sugar-cane 
are  much  relished,  as  also  sharks'  fins,  the  flesh  of  wild 
horses,  the  sea-slug,  and  a  soup  made  of  a  species  of 
birds'-nests.  At  an  imperial  feast  given  to  the  last  Bri- 
tish embassy,  a  soup  concocted  of  mare's  milk  and  blood 
was  among  the  dishes ! 

Of  vegetables  they  have  a  large  variety,  not  needful 
to  mention.  Rice  is  the  most  esteemed  and  the  most 
abundant.  This  is  the  chief  thing  for  which  they  wish 
and  work.  Certain  sailors  once  asked  Gutzlaff*,  whether 
the  western  barbarians  used  rice,  and,  as  he  was  rather 
slow  in  replying,  they  exclaimed,  "  O,  the  sterile  re- 
gions of  barbarians,  which  produce  not  the  necessaries 
of  life  :  strange  that  the  inhabitants  have  not  long  ago 
died  of  hunger!" 

8 


58 

The  Chinese  are  not  at  all  addicted  to  water-drinking. 
They  distil  from  rice  certain  liquors  resembling  our  beer, 
wines,  and  whiskey.  The  grape,  though  abundant,  is  not 
used  for  any  such  purpose.  The  universal  national  beve- 
rage is  tea.  This  is  drunk  in  unstinted  quantities  by  all 
classes  of  the  people,  from  the  self-styled  '^  Son  of  Hea- 
ven,'^ to  the  occupant  of  the  meanest  hovel  or  sanpan. 
So  enormous  is  the  consumption  of  tea  by  the  natives, 
that  McCartney  is  of  opinion  that,  if  the  whole  foreign 
demand  should,  by  some  accident,  suddenly  cease,  the 
price  of  the  article  would  not  be  materially  affected. 
Many  of  the  wealthier  natives  are  exceedingly  fastidious 
in  their  taste,  which  they  gratify  by  the  use  of  teas  ob- 
tained  at  prices  that  would  startle  us  by  their  enormity. 
It  is,  however,  only  the  very  rich  and  the  very  luxurious 
who  indulge  habitually  in  such  extravagance. 


XVIII.     A  Street,  with  Sedan  and  Bearers. 

Adjoining  the  mercantile  establishment  is  a  passage, 
five  feet  broad, — about  the  average  width  of  a  Canton 
street,  which  it  is  intended  to  represent.  It  is  nearly 
filled  by  a  sedan,  in  which  the  owner  is  comfortably  seat- 
ed, while  he  is  borne  gently  along  by  a  couple  of  coolies. 
The  one  in  front  is  as  intelligent  and  merry-looking  a  fel- 
low as  the  Collection  contains.  A  body  servant  is  in  at- 
tendance, who  trots  along  by  the  side  of  the  lordly  chair. 
The  interior  is  just  large  enough  for  the  convenient 
reception  of  a  single  occupant.  Instead  of  pannels,  the 
sides  are  covered  with  a  woollen  cloth  for  lightness,  and 
there  is  an  additional  covering  of  oilcloth,  to  be  used  in 
case  of  rain.  Two  bearers  place  the  light,  elastic  poles 
upon  their  shoulders,  and  move,  sometimes  at  consider- 
able speed,  with  measured  tread,  and  a  scarcely  percep- 


59 

tible  motion.  The  sedan  looks  like  the  very  home  of 
comfort  and  repose.  The  illustrious  Falstaff  never  took 
^^mine  ease  in  mine  inn"  more  luxuriously,  than  the  rich 
Chinaman  in  his  vaunted  palanquin.  This  vehicle  is  much 
used  by  the  wealthy,  and  affords  almost  the  only  mode  of 
land-travelling  known,  the  horse  being  rarely,  though 
sometimes,  employed.  Private  gentlemen  are  allowed 
only  two  bearers;  the  herd  of  civil  officers,  four;  vice- 
roys, eight;  while  the  Emperor's  dignity  requires  six- 
teen. 

The  sedan  has  often  been  a  bone  of  contention  between 
the  foreign  merchants  and  the  native  authorities.  The 
former  have,  again  and  again,  demanded  earnestly  the 
privilege  of  using  it ;  the  latter  have  as  vigorously  resist- 
ed the  demand,  and  hitherto  with  success. 


XIX.     The  Pavilion. 

This  is  a  large  apartment,  forming  the  eastern  termi- 
nation of  the  saloon,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  what 
mfiy  be  called  a  species  of  carved  net- work.  The  carving 
penetrates  entirely  through  the  wood,  and  represents 
figures  of  men,  animals,  birds,  flowers,  &c.  The  colours 
of  this  open  work  are  as  gay,  rich,  and  even  gorgeous,  as 
gilding  and  paint  can  make  them  ;  yet  so  skilfully  are 
they  disposed,  so  well  do  they  blend  and  harmonize,  that 
their  effect  is  altogether  agreeable.  The  room  thus 
inclosed  is  a  perfect  fac-simile  of  an  apartment  in  a 
wealthy  Chinaman's  palace.  The  visiter  will  be  not  less 
struck  by  the  quantity  than  by  the  kind  and  disposition 
of  its  furniture  and  decorations.  There  is  a  book-case  in 
one  corner,  a  long  high  table  for  the  reception  of  orna- 
ments in  the  back  part  of  the  room,  a  large  square  tabic 
at  each  end  of  this,  with  another  of  smaller  dimensions  in 


60 

front  of  it,  two  tea-stands,  two  rows  of  chairs  facing  each 
other  on  opposite  sides  of  the  apartment,  with  a  footstool 
for  every  chair,  besides  flower-pots,  spittoons,  porcelain 
stools,  lamps,  &c.  &c.  The  walls  are  hung  with  a  variety 
of  decorations,  chiefly  long  silken  scrolls,  with  maxims, 
as  before  described ;  and  the  tables  arc  covered  with 
characteristic  ornamental  articles. 

There  are  six  figures  in  the  pavilion,  intended  to 
represent  the  mode  of  paying  and  receiving  visits.  Tea 
and  pipes  are  always  served  on  these  occasions,  and  fre- 
quently sweetmeats  or  dried  fruits.  The  common  mode 
of  salutation  is  to  join  the  closed  hands,  and  lift  them 
twice  or  thrice  towards  the  head,  saying,  Haou — tsing^ 
taing;  that  is,  ^^  Are  you  well? — Hail,  hail!'^ 

Here  terminate  the  cases  that  contain  representations 
of  men  and  w^omen.  The  figures  are  modelled  out  of  a  pe- 
culiar species  of  clay,  admirably  adapted  for  the  purpose. 
They  are  highly  creditable  to  the  taste  and  ingenuity  of 
the  Chinese,  who,  though  not  good  sculptors,  are  excel- 
lent modellers,  and  they  afford  specimens  of  a  style  of  art 
altogether  novel  to  an  American.  The  attentive  observer 
will  have  noticed  a  remarkable  sameness  of  feature  and 
expression  running  through  the  whole  collection,  though 
all  are  accurate  likenesses  of  originals,  most  of  whom  are 
now  living.  High  cheek  bones,  flat  noses,  small  black 
eyes,  a  yellowish  complexion,  and  a  rather  dull,  heavy 
expression  of  countenance,  are  the  general  character- 
istics. Chinese  physical  nature  is  said  to  be  cast,  as  it 
were,  in  the  same  mould,  throughout  the  whole  Empire, 
notwithstanding  its  various  provinces  differ  so  w  idely  in 
soil  and  climate.  And  this  characteristic  sameness  ex- 
tends to  the  mind  as  well  as  body.  The  phenomenon  has 
been  ingeniously  explained  by  the  author  of  ^^  Egypt  and 
Mohammed  Ali,''  who  traces  it  to  despotism  as  its  prima- 


61/ 

ry  cause :  for,  he  reasons,  the  multitude,  all  reduced  to 
the  same  level,  urged  by  the  same  wants,  engaged  in  the 
same  pursuits,  actuated  by  the  same  passions,  through  a 
long  succession  of  ages,  necessarily  assimilate,  both  men- 
tally and  physically. 

The  Chinese  habit  of  cultivating  long  nails  is  not  re- 
presented in  these  figures,  on  account,  we  presume,  of 
the  difiiculty  of  achieving  this  object  in  the  clay  out  of 
which  they  are  made.  This  custom,  indeed,  does  not 
prevail  to  any  thing  like  the  extent  sometimes  represent- 
ed. Still,  long  finger  nails  are  held  in  estimation  as  one 
of  the  marks  of  gentility.  Mr.  Wood  asserts  that  they 
sometimes  acquire  the  extraordinary  and  almost  incredi- 
ble length  of  eight  or  nine  inches. 

Corpulency,  and  small,  delicate,  taper  fingers,  are 
also  much  esteemed  as  indications  of  gentility.  There  is 
a  goodly  rotundity  of  person  in  most  of  the  figures  in 
this  Collection,  but  the  attentive  observer  will  be  parti- 
cularly struck  with  the  characteristic  smallness  and  deli^ 
cacy  of  the  hands.  The  carefully  cultivated  and  well 
braided  pigtails,  so  long  in  some  instances  as  almost  to 
trail  upon  the  ground,  and  affording  admirable  bandies 
to  an  antagonist  in  a  passion,  form  a  curious  subject  of 
observation.  The  history  of  this  singular  appendage 
affords  a  remarkable  illustration  of  those  revolutions 
which  sometimes  occur  in  national  taste  and  manners. 
Previous  to  the  conquest  of  their  country  by  the  Tartars, 
the  Chinese  permitted  the  hair  to  grow  over  the  whole 
head.  Shunche,  the  first  of  the  Tartar  emperors,  is- 
sued an  imperial  edict  requiring  the  conquered  people 
to  conform  in  this  particular  to  the  custom  of  their  vic- 
tors. So  stoutly  was  this  decree  at  first  resisted,  that 
many  of  the  nobles  preferred  death  to  obedience,  and 
actually   perished   by  the   command  of  the   conqueror. 


62 

At  the  present  day,  however,  the  loss  of  this  very  badge 
of  servitude  is  considered  one  of  the  greatest  of  calami- 
ties^ scarcely  less  dreaded  than  death  itself.  To  be  de- 
prived of  it  is  one  of  the  most  opprobrious  brands  put 
upon  convicts  and  criminals.  Those  to  whom  nature  has 
been  sparing  in  respect  to  the  natural  covering  of  the 
head,  supply  her  deficiencies  by  the  artificial  introduc- 
tion and  intermingling  of  other  hair  with  their  own,  thus 
seeking  to  ''  increase  it  to  a  reputably  fashionable  size.'^ 
We  must  not  take  leave  of  these  our  good  Chinese 
friends,  without  observing  that  they  put  faith  in  the  ex- 
ternal developments  of  the  skull,  and  are,  therefore,  to 
a  certain  extent,  phrenologists.  They  look  for  the  prin- 
cipal characteristics  of  a  man  in  his  forehead,  and  of  a 
woman  on  the  back  of  the  cranium. 


XX.      The  Room  in  the  south-east  corner  of  the  Saloon* 

This  is  an  apartment  corresponding  in  size  with  the 
silk  store.  It  is  filled  with  a  great  number  of  imple- 
ments, chiefly  agricultural ;  but  as  they  have  not  been 
arranged,  we  cannot  attempt  a  description.  We  notice, 
however,  confusedly  thrown  together,  axes,  hoes,  rakes, 
forks,  shovels,  spades,  flails,  a  plough  and  harrow,  a 
wild-looking  husbandman's  dress  made  of  flags,  for  rainy 
weather,  &c.  &c.  These  are,  for  the  most,  simple  and 
rude  ;  and  there  is  little  to  be  learned  from  them.  We 
have  before  had  occasion  to  mention  the  Chinese  winnow- 
ing machine.  It  is  almost  identical  with  ours,  and  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  it,  together  with  our  flail,  came 
originally  from  China.  Mr.  Davis  says,  that  a  model 
was  carried  to  Holland,  and  that  from  Holland  the  first 
specimen  reached  Leith. 


63 

The  most  cursory  account  of  the  Celestial  Empire^ 
should  include  some  notice  of  its  agriculture.  Of  all 
classes  who  labour  with  their  hands,  the  husbandman  is 
there  the  most  honoured,  being  accounted  second  only 
to  the  literati  of  the  realm.  Nothing  appears  so  strongly 
to  have  roused  the  wonder  of  the  early  missionaries  to 
China,  as  the  agricultural  skill  of  the  natives ;  and  in 
nothing,  perhaps,  did  they  so  much  indulge  in  exagge- 
ration, as  in  their  accounts  of  it.  But,  whatever  abate- 
ments truth  may  require  to  be  made  from  their  glowing 
descriptions,  there  can  hardly  be  a  doubt  that  the  Chi- 
nese manage  to  get  more  out  of  an  acre  of  ground  than 
any  other  nation,  the  English  alone  excepted. 

The  ''  Stranger  in  China,'^  on  the  authority  of  Amiot, 
states  the  cultivated  lands  of  the  country  at  596,172,500 
English  acres.  This  immense  territory  is  divided  into 
patches  of  a  few  acres  each,  generally  owned  by  the  oc- 
cupants. A  rigid  economy  of  soil  is  practised.  With 
the  exception  of  the  royal  gardens  at  Peking,  no  land  in 
the  empire  is  taken  up  with  parks  and  pleasure  grounds. 
Of  meadows,  there  are  none;  of  pasture  grounds, 
scarcely  any.  The  few  ruminating  animals,  scattered 
thinly  over  the  country,  gather  a  scanty  subsistence,  as 
best  they  may,  on  mountains  and  marshes,  unfit  for  cul- 
tivation. As  wheel  carriages  are  not  used,  the  highways 
are  but  a  few  feet  wide,  and  nothing  is  thrown  away 
there.  No  fences  are  allowed  to  encumber  the  soil,  no 
hedges  to  prey  upon  its  strength.  Sepulchres  are  al- 
ways on  hills  too  barren  for  cultivation.  A' narrow  foot- 
path separates  neighbouring  farms,  and  porcelain  land- 
marks define  more  permanently  their  respective  limits. 
Even  the  sterile  mountains  are  terraced  into  fertility,  and 
glow  with  ripening  harvests,  intermingled  with  the  bril- 
liant foliage  of  clustering  fruit-trees. 


64 

But  their  economising  of  the  soil  is  not  more  rigid^ 
than  the  methods  by  which  they  seek  to  preserve  or  to 
renovate  its  strength,  are  new  and  various.  Necessity 
may  here  truly  be  said  to  have  been  the  mother  of  inven- 
tion. Every  conceivable  substance,  possessing  any  en- 
riching qualities,  has  been  converted  into  a  manure. 
Not  only  lime,  ashes,  dung  of  animals,  &c.,  but  hair  of 
all  kinds,  barber's  shavings,  horns  and  bones  reduced  to 
powder,  soot,  night  soil,  the  cakes  that  remain  after  the 
expression  of  their  vegetable  oil,  the  plaster  of  old 
kitchens,  and  all  kinds  of  vegetable  and  animal  refuse, 
are  among  the  substances  used  as  manures.  These  are 
all  carefully  collected  and  husbanded,  being  frequently 
kept  in  cisterns  constructed  for  the  purpose,  or  in  earthen 
tubs  sunk  in  the  ground,  where,  covered  with  straw  to 
prevent  evaporation,  and  diluted  with  a  suflSicient  quan- 
tity of  water,  they  are  left  to  undergo  the  putrefactive 
fermentation,  after  which  they  are  applied  to  the  land. 

The  Chinese  understand  well  the  enriching  effect  of 
frequent  ploughings.*  Horses  or  oxen  are  rarely  attached 
to  their  ploughs  ;  more  commonly  a  small  species  of  buf- 
falo ;  and  oftener  still,  men  and  women.  Frequently  the 
plough  is  not  used  at  all,  the  spade  and  hoe  supplying  its 
place.  In  the  irrigation  of  their  lands,  they  display  great 
ingenuity  and  diligence.  Their  numerous  rivers  are  here 
of  essential  utility. 

Rice  is  their  staple  grain.  They  always  get  two  crops 
a  year  out  of  their  land  ;  sometimes  three.  When  a  third 
is  not  raised,  the  soil  is,  nevertheless,  again  taxed  in  the 
production  of  pulse,  greens,  potatoes,  and  other  vegeta- 
bles.    Millet  is  extensively  cultivated.     Women  labour 

*  Sir  Joseph  Banks  expresses  his  surprise  that  this  principle  is  not  turned 
to  greater  account  by  the  Europeans.  Repeated  ploughings  are  almost  the 
only  fertilizing  process  known  among  the  Hindoos. 


63 

on  the  farms  equally  with  the  men.  A  stout  and  healthy 
wife  is  therefore  a  great  desideratum  with  a  Chinaman, 
and  the  ''  working  wives  of  Kiang-see ''  are  said  to  he 
held  in  high  estimation  throughout  the  provinces. 

Notwithstanding  the  immensity  of  labour  bestowed  on 
the  cultivation  of  the  earth — and  the  Chinese  agricul- 
turists are  like  ants  or  bees  in  respect  to  both  their  num- 
ber and  industry — it  seems  incapable  of  sustaining  the 
swarming  population  of  the  Empire.  Hence  every  har- 
bour, lake,  river,  and  stream  of  whatever  description,  are 
literally  thronged  and  darkened  by  fishermen,  who  resort 
to  the  most  ingenious  and  novel  methods  of  alluring  and 
entrapping  their  victims.  Nor  do  they  forget  or  omit  to 
take  care  that  the  waters  be  not,  as  it  were,  depopulated 
by  these  ceaseless  ravages.  They  take  the  utmost  pains 
to  collect  the  spawns  of  fishes,  and  to  deposit  them  in 
convenient  places  for  breeding. 

"  Such  is  their  toil,  and  such  their  busy  pains, 
As  exercise  the  bees  in  flow'ry  plains, 
When  winter  past,  and  summer  scarce  begun. 
Invites  them  forth  to  labour  in  the  sun."* 


XXI.     First  Wall  Case  on  the  south  side^  with  the  two 
opposite  Cases, 

Continuing  our  course  around  the  saloon,  and  number- 
ing the  cases  on  the  south  wall  in  a  reverse  order,  we 
next  come  to  one  containing  a  numerous  collection  of  mis- 
cellaneous articles,  which  throw  no  little  light  on  the 
characteristic  intelligence,  skill,  and  taste  of  the  Chinese. 
Those  which  will  first  attract  notice,  as  being  the  most 

*  Dryden's  Virgil. 

9 


66 

new  and  grotesque,  are  the  figures  carved  out  of  the 
gnarled  roots  of  trees.  This  is  a  kind  of  ornament  highly- 
esteemed  by  the  natives.  The  more  distorted  the  roots, 
and  the  more  hideous  the  figures  wrought  upon  them^  the 
greater  is  the  pleasure  they  afford. 

"  Gorgons,  hydras,  and  chimeras  dire," 

the  wildest  forms  that  nature  has  revealed  or  imagination 
invented,  please  best  the  superstitious  fancy  of  this  mar- 
vel-loving people. 

Besides  the  figures  just  noticed,  there  are  in  this  case 
many  images  of  idols,  of  w^ood,  stone,  and  porcelain. 

There  are  several  elegantly  shaped  vessels  for  jhos- 
sticks,(«)  usually  placed  in  temples  and  pagodas.  The 
central  portion,  which  swells  out  most  gracefully,  is  gene- 
rally of  fine  porcelain,  while  the  lower  part  and  the  cover- 
ing are  of  odoriferous  wood. 

There  are  two  gentlemen's  toilet-glasses,  of  different 
patterns,(6)  and  two  circular  metallic  mirrors,(c)  of  which 
latter  we  see  only  the  ornamented  backs. 

There  are  two  common  lamps,((/)  which  are  nothing 
more  than  shallow  metallic  bowls,  fixed  upon  a  stand  of 
the  same  material.  The  oil  is  poured  into  its  uncovered 
receptacle,  and  a  small  wick  immersed  in  it,  and  the  ap- 
paratus is  then  complete  for  use. 

This  case  contains  also  a  handsome  pair  of  scales,  with 
weights  of  a  novel  form;(^)  a  queer-shaped  night-rat- 
tle,(/)  which  the  watchman  strikes  with  a  bamboo  stick 
to  sound  an  alarm  ;  a  Chinese  compass  and  dial,  ingeni- 
ously combined ;(^)  two  pen-holders; (A)  specimens  of 


(fl)  147, 149, 174, 181, 178,213.— (6)  145,  156.— (c)  155,  157.— (t?)  148, 
153.— (p)  142.— (/)  150.— (^)  144.— (A)  14.3,  165. 


67 

bamboo  pillows ;  (a)  a  model  of  a  pagoda;  (6)  earthern  pots 
made  in  imitation  of  iron;(c)  paintings  on  marble  ;(rf) 
two  beautiful  specimens  of  enamelled  ware,(6)  one  of 
them  in  shape  like  an  old-fashioned  coffee-pot,  being 
used  for  holding  hot  wine  at  entertainments ;  a  jhos- 
bell;(/)  a  small  hand-furnace,(^)  for  keeping  the  fin- 
gers warm  in  walking  out  on  a  cold  day,  no  gloves  being 
ever  worn  ;  together  with  other  objects  too  numerous  for 
specification. 

But  we  have  reserved  to  the  last  the  most  rare  and 
valuable  of  the  articles  in  this  case :  we  refer  to  the 
splendid  cameo,  (A)  which  Mr.  Dunn  could  not  have 
purchased,  however  much  he  might  have  desired  to  do 
so,  but  which  was  generously  presented  to  him  by  one  of 
the  Hong  merchants.  Its  dimensions  cannot  be  much 
under  three  feet  by  two,  and  it  is  carved  to  represent  an 
extended  landscape,  including  earth  and  sky,  and  em- 
bracing various  rural  scenes  and  objects.  We  would 
praise  the  beauty  of  the  frame,  were  it  not  that,  under 
the  circumstances,  we  can  hardly  divide  our  admiration. 

The  two  cases  opposite  contain  many  interesting  mine- 
ralogical  specimens,  but  are  mainly  taken  up  with  a  dis- 
play of  musical  instruments.  "  The  Chinese  musical 
instruments,"  says  Davis,  ^*  are  very  numerous,  consist- 
ing of  diff*erent  kinds  of  lutes  and  guitars ;  several  flutes 
and  other  wind  instruments;  a  squeaking  fiddle  with 
three  strings ;  a  sort  of  harmonicon  of  wires,  touched 
with  two  slender  slips  of  bamboo ;  systems  of  bells,  and 
pieces  of  sonorous  metal ;  and  drums  covered  with  snake- 
skins."  All  these,  together  with  the  war  gongs,  cymbals, 
and  trumpets,  have  their  representatives  in  the  Collec- 


(fl)  128,  134.— (6)  183.— (c)  160,  &c.— (rf)  180,  182— (e)  173,  175 

(/)  216 — {g)  140.— (A)  214. 


68 

tion.  It  was  these  latter  particularly,  we  suppose,  that 
caused  De  Guignes  to  characterize  the  Chinese  rausic  as 
a  ^^ frightful  racket" — bruit  epouvantable.  Some  of 
their  instruments,  the  harmonicon  especially,  are  said  to 
produce  very  sweet  tones ;  and  they  have  one  (which  is 
also  in  Mr.  D/s  Collection)  consisting  of  a  great  number 
of  pipes  varying  in  length,  and  arranged  circularly.  The 
tones  emitted  by  this  instrument  are  very  similar  to  the 
music  of  the  Scotch  bagpipe.  They  do  not  employ  cat- 
gut in  stringing  their  instruments,  but  substitute  silk  and 
wire.  Sounding-boards  are  not  used.  According  to  Mr. 
Huttner,  one  of  the  attaches  of  Lord  Macartney's  em- 
bassy, the  gamut  of  the  Chinese  is  very  imperfect.  They 
have  no  knowledge  of  semitones,  counterpoint,  or  parts  in 
music.  Harmonies  are  never  attempted.  Whatever  the 
number  of  performers,  there  is  always  one  melody. 


XXII.     Second  Wall  Case  on  the  south  side^   with  the 
two  opposite  Cases. 

The  second  case  is  chiefly  filled  with  specimens  of 
lackered  ware.  There  are  some  very  elegant  gilt  boxes, 
of  square,  circular,  and  nondescript  patterns.  But  the 
most  interesting  articles  are  what  may  be  termed  a  com- 
plete travelling  apparatus  for  a  mandarin  or  private  gen- 
tleman, including  boxes  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  and  a 
table  service  consisting  of  teapot,  cups,  bowls,  spoons, 
&c.  The  largest  of  the  boxes  is  round,  and  consists  of 
a  succession  of  compartments.  It  answers  the  purpose 
of  a  wardrobe.  In  travelling  on  land,  the  whole  are 
slung  on  bamboo  poles,  and  carried  on  the  shoulders  of 
coolies,  who  are  more  or  less  numerous,  according  to  the 


69 

wealth  and  state  of  the  owner.  Most  of  the  articles  in 
this  set  are  red,  with  a  very  little  gilding. 

The  lackered,  or  japanned,  ware  of  China  is  well 
known.  All  substances  that  are  dry  and  rigid,  as  woods, 
metals,  and  prepared  paper,  admit  of  being  japanned. 
The  fine  varnish  used  for  this  purpose  is  obtained  from  a 
shrub,  called  atsieshoo,  a  species  of  rhus,  from  which  it 
distils  like  gum.  It  is  poisonous  in  a  liquid  state,  and 
hence  great  caution  is  used  both  by  those  who  gather  and 
those  who  work  in  it,  to  shield  themselves  from  its  nox- 
ious qualities.  It  is  capable  of  receiving  all  colours, 
though  black  is  the  most  common.  More  than  fifty  coats 
of  varnish  are  sometimes  put  on. 

We  have  also  in  this  case,  specimens  of  Chinese  tiles 
and  shop-signs ;  two  cameos ;  a  paint  box,  with  paints ; 
two  very  beautiful  bamboo  pillows,  on  a  kind  of  stand  or 
frame ;  a  small  compass ;  two  handsome  bamboo  pen- 
holders ;  spittoons  of  divers  patterns,  &c.  (fee. 

An  object  of  peculiar  interest  is  a  model  of  a  Chinese 
coffin,  perfectly  original.  Every  man  in  China  provides 
his  own  coffin,  which  is  sometimes  kept  many  years. 
This  is  considered  as  necessary  there,  as  making  a  will  is 
among  us.  They  are  often  made  of  rare  and  costly  kinds 
of  wood,  and  are  finished  with  great  elegance,  being,  in 
such  case,  of  course,  a  very  expensive  article. 

The  two  cases  opposite,  contain  some  specimens  of  the 
coarser  kinds  of  porcelain  ware. 


XXIII.      The  Cases  containhig  Porcelain  ,/lriides. 

Of  these  there  are  five  or  six.  We  group  them  toge- 
ther in  our  notice,  because  it  would  occupy  too  much 
space  to  specify  even  the  principal  objects  contained  in 


70 

them,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  do  so,  if  space  were 
abundant.  The  specimens  in  this  department  are  ex- 
ceedingly numerous,  and  include  vases,  jars,  pipe-stands, 
summer-seats,  bowls  of  enormous  size,  landmarks,  pago- 
das, screens,  and  various  services.  No  pains  have  been 
spared  to  collect  whatever  the  country  afforded  of  rare 
and  beautiful  in  the  porcelain  manufacture.  The  vases 
will  attract  attention  not  only  by  their  number,  size,  and 
variety,  but  by  the  beauty  of  their  forms  and  the  rich- 
ness of  their  colouring.  Several  of  them  are  ornamented 
with  raised  figures  of  dragons,  serpents,  insects,  &c. 
These  are  much  prized  by  the  natives.  Others  have 
acquired  a  high  value  from  their  antiquity,  a  quality 
which  sanctifies  every  thing  in  China.  Mr.  Wood  states, 
that  an  idea  prevails  that  antique  vases  have  the  property 
of  preserving  flowers  which  are  placed  in  them  fresh  and 
blooming  for  a  long  time.  The  specimens  of  ware, 
cracked  on  the  surface  in  burning,  are  singularly  elegant. 
The  art  of  producing  these  lines  is  now  lost. 

Two  lettered  landmarks,  such  as  are  used  to  designate 
the  corners  of  adjoining  possessions,  merit  the  visiter's 
notice ;  as  also  two  octagonal  pipe-stands,  several  feet  in 
height.  Landmarks  are  sacred  in  the  eyes  of  a  China- 
man, and  to  deface  or  destroy  them  is  a  high  crime. 

The  pagoda  is  intended  as  a  model  of  the  famous  porce- 
lain pagoda  at  Nanking.  The  original  is  merely  roofed 
with  porcelain,  and  not,  as  might  be  imagined  from  the 
name,  constructed  of  that  material.  This  stately  struc- 
ture is  nearly  two  hundred  feet  in  height.  The  pagodas 
are  generally  supposed,  as  before  stated,  to  have  had  a 
religious  destination.  Sir  George  Staunton,  on  the  con- 
trary, says  that  they  are  dedicated  to  several  uses  in 
China,  without  specifying  what;  but  none  to  religious 
worship. 


71 

The  cups,  bowls,  spoons,  teapots,  &c.,  form  a  choice 
and  extensive  collection,  and  embrace  many  patterns  en- 
tirely new  to  us.  Some  of  the  cups  are  scarcely  thicker 
than  a  wafer,  and  almost  transparent.  They  are  of  the 
tiniest  dimensions,  and,  with  teapots  to  match,  seem  more 
fitted  for  the  use  of  Queen  Mab  and  her  troop,  than  for 
beings  formed  in  a  grosser  mould.  There  are  several 
teapots  of  white  copper,  with  an  interior  lining  of  stone. 

The  porcelain  manufacture  undoubtedly  had  its  origin 
in  China,  and  we  must,  therefore,  hold  ourselves  indebted 
to  the  Chinese  for  all  that  rich  variety  of  useful  and  or- 
namental chinaware  articles,  which  load  our  tables,  and 
adorn  our  parlour  and  cabinets.  It  was  introduced  to 
the  knowledge  of  Europeans  by  that  famous  Venetian 
traveller,  Marco  Polo.  The  first  furnace  on  record  was 
in  Keang-sy,  which  dates  as  far  back  as  the  commence- 
ment of  the  seventh  century  of  our  era.  King-tse-ching, 
a  place  near  the  Poyang  lake,  is  now  the  most  celebrated 
for  this  manufacture.  The  factories  were  commenced 
there  about  A.  D.  1000,  and  have  increased  to  the  num- 
ber of  several  hundred.  Staunton  says  that  the  flames 
which  issue  from  them  cause  the  place  to  appear  at  night 
like  a  vast  city  enveloped  in  a  general  conflagration. 
The  spectacle  is  terrific  and  sublime.  The  furnaces  give 
employment  to  the  male  working  portion  of  a  population 
said  to  amount  to  a  million.  The  division  of  labour  is 
carried  to  its  acme.  A  teacup,  from  the  time  when  it 
lies  embedded  in  its  native  quarries,  till  it  comes  forth  in 
its  perfection  from  the  furnace,  passes  through  more  than 
fifty  different  hands.  The  painting  alone  is  divided  be- 
tween a  half  dozen  persons,  one  of  whom  sketches  the 
outline  of  a  bird,  another  of  a  plant,  a  third  of  some 
other  figure,  while  a  fourth  fills  in  the  colours.  The 
brilliancy  of  their  colouring  has  never  been  surpassed  ; 


72 

but  the  designing  is  not,  as  a  general  thing,  to  be  com- 
mended. The  reason  probably  is,  that  no  higher  wages 
are  paid  to  those  who  labour  in  this  department  of  the 
manufacture,  than  to  those  who  perform  the  coarser  ope- 
rations. 

It  is  perfectly  obvious,  from  an  inspection  of  the  arti- 
cles embraced  in  Mr.  Dunn's  Collection,  that  the  excel- 
lence of  the  porcelain  manufacture  has  been  on  the  decline 
for  the  last  three  centuries.  The  deterioration,  as  well 
as  the  high  degree  of  perfection  it  had  then  attained,  are 
easily  explained.  The  Emperors  who  flourished  about 
that  period,  encouraged  the  manufacture  by  munificent 
premiums  on  the  most  beautiful  specimens,  and  by  large  an- 
nual orders  for  the  finer  wares.  A  premium  of  15,000  tael, 
or  more  than  1820,000  was  bestowed  on  the  manufacturer 
of  the  best  specimen  ;  10,000  tael  on  him  who  produced 
the  second-best ;  while  third-rate  excellence  received  a 
reward  of  5,000.  The  Emperors  no  longer  bestow  any 
special  encouragement,  and  hence  the  decline  of  compe- 
tition, and  consequently  of  excellence. 

The  origin  of  the  word  porcelain,  oy  porcellana,  may 
not  be  generally  known.  Marsden,  as  quoted  by  Davis, 
shows  that  it  was  applied  by  the  Europeans  to  the  ware 
of  China,  from  the  resemblance  of  its  fine  polished  sur- 
face to  that  of  the  univalve  shell  so  named  ;  while  the 
shell  itself  derived  its  appellation  from  the  curved  shape 
of  its  upper  surface,  which  was  thought  to  resemble  the 
raised  back  of  ^  porcella^  or  little  hog. 


XXIV.     The  Export  Case, 

This  case,  which  follows  immediately  those  containing 
the  porcelain  manufactures,  has  been  so  named  because  it 


73 

contains  articles  made  only  to  be  exported.  They  are 
japanned  boxes,  writing  desks,  numerous  stands,  and  a 
pair  of  work-tables.  We  fear  they  have  caused,  and  will 
cause,  many  a  female  heart  to  indulge  desires  not  quite 
consistent  with  the  tenth  commandment.  The  richness 
of  the  gilding  and  the  elegance  of  the  entire  work  cannot 
certainly  be  surpassed.  The  work-tables,  which  are  per- 
fectly well  proportioned  and  beautiful  in  themselves,  are 
provided  each  with  a  complete  apparatus  in  ivory,  suited 
to  a  lady's  wants,  and  carved  in  the  most  delicate  and 
tasteful  style. 

At  one  end  of  this  case  is  appropriately  suspended  a 
foreign  vessel's  chop.  This  is  a  port-clearance  from  the 
Viceroy  and  Hoppoo.*  It  states  the  captain's  name,  the 
tonnage  and  cargo  of  the  vessel,  and  the  compliance,  on 
the  part  of  the  former,  with  the  customary  port  requisi- 
tions. It  requires  the  commander  of  the  fort  to  allow  the 
ship  to  pass  unmolested,  and,  in  case  of  accident  befalling 
her  any  where  on  Chinese  waters,  it  enjoins  upon  the 
mandarins  to  render  every  aid  in  their  power,  free  of  all 
charges.  This  must  certainly  be  regarded  as  a  liberal 
policy.  Before  a  chop  can  be  obtained,  the  Hong  mer- 
chant to  whom  the  vessel  has  been  consigned,  must  cer- 
tify to  the  proper  officers  that  all  the  necessary  conditions 
have  been  complied  with  on  the  part  of  her  officers,  and 
that  no  debts  remained  unpaid. 

This  case  is  to  receive  several  other  ornamental  arti- 
cles. 

*  Chief  custom-house  officer. 
10 


74 


XXV.     Fifth  Wall  Case  on  the  south  side. 

Here  we  have  four  models  of  the  summer-house,  so 
common  in  China,  with  their  scalloped  roofs,  gilding, 
painting,  &c.  Three  of  them  are  two  stories  high.  They 
are  surrounded  with  colonnades,  and  have  a  cool,  inviting 
appearance.  One  is  very  showy,  and  affords  a  good  spe- 
cimen of  the  Chinese  mother-of-pearl  windows.  These 
ornamental  pavilions  are  in  every  garden.  They  often 
stand  in  the  midst  of  a  sheet  of  water,  and  are  of  course 
approached  by  bridges.  They  must  be  delightful  lounges 
for  a  summer  evening. 

This  case  contains,  besides  the  pavilions,  a  model  of  a 
one-arched  bridge ;  and  a  small,  but  highly  ornamented, 
domestic  shrine,  with  three  gilt  idols.  A  family  shrine, 
of  some  kind,  is  found  in  every  house  and  sanpan.  These 
paraphernalia  of  heathenism  cannot  be  contemplated  by  a 
Christian  mind  without  a  sigh  over  the  moral  darkness  in 
which  they  have  their  origin,  and  the  breathing  of  a 
heartfelt  prayer  that  the  true  light  may  speedily  en- 
lighten the  nations. 


XXVI.      Two  Wall  Cases  containing  Models  of  Boats. 

The  author  of  the  Stranger  in  China  says,  that  the 
Chinese  boats  may  be  divided  into  two  classes,  those  that 
have  eyes  and  those  without  them.  To  the  former  class 
belong  the  military  and  trading  junks,  that  navigate  the 
"  great  sea."  Of  these  we  have  no  model  in  Mr.  Dunn's 
Collection,  but  there  is  an  exact  representation  of  them 
in  a  painting  on  one  of  the  pannels  of  the  screen-work, 
before  noticed.     They  are  nearly  in  the  shape  of  a  new 


75 

moon,  and  as  clumsy  a  craft  as  could  well  be  contrived. 
The  Emperor  not  only  affords  no  encouragement  to  im- 
provement, but  actually  puts  a  price  on  the  opposite,  in 
the  exaction  of  foreign  port-duties  from  junks  constructed 
on  improved  principles.  These  vessels  have  always  a 
great  eye  painted  on  each  side  of  the  bows.  This  usage 
had  its  origin  probably  in  some  superstition.  If  a  Chi- 
nese is  questioned  as  to  its  cause,  his  reply  is, — ^^Have 
eye,  can  see ;  can  see,  can  saavez  :  no  have  eye,  no  can 
see ;  no  can  see,  no  can  saavez." 

The  variety  of  craft  used  upon  the  inland  waters  of 
China  is  very  great.     Of  most  of  the  different  kinds  we 
have  models  in  the  two  cases  before  us.     There  are,  for 
example,  the  sanpan,  or  family  boat ;  a  boat  used  by  the 
wealthy  for  the  conveyance  of  themselves  and  families ; 
the  chop,  or   lighter,  used  in  transporting  merchandise 
between  Canton  and  Whampoa  ;  a  small  boat  employed 
on  canals  in  the  northern  part  of  the  empire  ;  tw^o  canal- 
boats  of  those  in  common  use ;  and  a  mandarin  boat,  or 
revenue  cutter.     These  all  appear  well  contrived  for  the 
purpose  to  which  they  are  applied,  and  are  by  no  means 
destitute  of  beauty.     They  are  provided  with  bamboo 
sails,  used  only  occasionally,  and  the  rudders  are  univer- 
sally perforated  with  small  holes,  which  may  be  set  down 
as  a  wonder  for  the  wise.     They  are  generally  propelled 
by  sculling,  a  method  which  is  made  absolutely  necessary 
by  the  number  of  boats  always  in   motion.     The  skill 
with  which  the  Chinese  perform  this  operation  confirms 
the   old  proverb,  that  "practice  makes  perfect;"  for 
the  boat  is  made  to  dart  forward  at  a  rapid  rate,  and  in  a 
line  as  direct  as  any  well-managed  sail  vessel  could  de- 
scribe.   The  foreign  sailors  sometimes  try  their  skill,  but 
make  a  sorry  business  of  it :  "  no  can  do." 

All   the   models   of  boats   in  Mr.  Dunn's  Collection, 


76 


"have  been  made  by  reducing  the  dimensions  to  the 
proper  scale  ;  and  in  every  particular,  even  to  the  em- 
ployinent  of  the  same  descriptions  of  wood,  the  oars, 
sculls,  rudders,  setting  poles,  cordage,  &c.,  are  fac-similes 
of  those  in  actual  use."* 


XXVII.     Three  JSTatural  History  Cases. 

These  are  directly  opposite  the  cases  just  described. 
They  contain  a  number  of  interesting  specimens  of  the 
feathered  tribe ;  among  which  are  the  Chinese  partridge, 
various  species  of  song  birds,  and  several  varieties  of  the 
duck.  Immense  quantities  of  this  domesticated  bird  are 
reared  by  the  Chinese,  particularly  by  those  who  live  on 
the  water.  It  holds  the  same  rank  in  the  winged  race 
that  the  pig  occupies  among  quadrupeds.  There  is  a 
particular  kind  of  boat  appropriated  to  duck-rearing.  It 
has  a  broad  platform  projecting  over  the  water  for  the 
use  of  the  ducks,  who  are  also  honoured  with  the  most 
roomy  apartments  within  the  boat  itself.  During  the 
day,  they  are  permitted  to  make  cruises  on  the  water  or 
expeditions  on  land,  seeking  what  they  may  devour  ;  but 
they  are  trained  to  obey  the  call  of  a  whistle,  and  when- 
ever the  signal  is  sounded,  they  instantly  hasten  back 
from  their  wanderings. 

There  is  one  variety  here,  called  the  "  mandarin 
duck,''  which  will  attract  special  notice  from  the  bril- 
liancy of  its  plumage  and  the  singularity  of  its  wings. 
Its  disposition,  too,  is  as  remarkable  as  its  beauty.  The 
female  never  mates  a  second  time.  An  interesting  anec- 
dote, illustrative  of  this  fact,  is  related  by  Davis.     Of  a 

*  Silliman's  Journal. 


77 

pair  of  these  birds  in  Mr.  BeaPs  aviary  at  Macao,  the 
drake  happened  one  night  to  be  stolen.  The  duck  was 
perfectly  inconsolable,  like  Calypso  after  the  departure 
of  Ulysses.  She  retired  into  a  corner,  neglected  her 
food  and  person,  refused  all  society,  and  rejected  with 
disdain  the  proffer  of  a  second  love.  In  a  few  days,  the 
purloined  drake  was  recovered  and  brought  back.  The 
mutual  demonstrations  of  joy  were  excessive,  and,  what 
is  more  singular,  the  true  husband,  as  if  informed  by  his 
partner  of  what  had  happened  in  his  absence,  pounced 
upon  the  would-be  lover,  tore  out  his  eyes,  and  injured 
him  so  much  that  he  soon  after  died  of  his  wounds. 


XXVIII.     Picture  of  Macao, 

This  is  by  the  same  artist,  and  of  the  same  dimensions, 
as  the  Picture  of  Canton,  already  described.  It  is  a  view 
of  Macao,  as  it  appears  from  the  harbour.  The  town  is 
handsomely  situated  on  a  steep  declivity,  and  protected, 
as  it  were,  in  the  rear  by  a  mountain  wall.  One  of  the 
neighbouring  summits  is  crowned  with  a  Portuguese 
church,  which  shows  like  a  fortress  in  the  distance.  The 
effect  must  be  imposing  in  approaching  by  sea,  as  nearly 
the  whole  city  is  visible,  and  of  a  prepossessing  appear- 
ance. Macao  is  a  place  of  some  importance  ;  and  inter- 
esting on  several  accounts.  It  belongs  nominally  to  the 
Portuguese,  to  whom  the  privilege  of  building  a  town 
there  was  granted  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago, 
in  consideration  of  services  rendered  in  clearing  the 
Chinese  waters  of  a  desperate  gang  of  pirates ;  but  the 
government  is  really  in  the  hands  of  the  viceroy  at  Can- 
ton. Here  all  foreign  merchantmen,  bound  to  Canton, 
have  to  procure  a  chop^  or  permit  to  pass  the  forts,  and 


78 

take  on  board  an  inside  pilot.  This  is  the  utmost  limit 
to  which  European  or  American  ladies  are  ever  permit- 
ted to  intrude  into  the  Celestial  Empire.  Most  of  the 
foreign  merchants  resident  at  Canton,  rusticate  at  Macao 
during  the  summer  months. 

Lintin,  that  paradise  of  smugglers,  lies  to  the  left  of 
the  view  contained  in  this  picture. 


XXIX.     Picture  of  the  Bocca  Tigris. 

The  Bocca  Tigris  is  the  entrance  of  the  Canton  river, 
and  is  so  called  from  the  appearance  of  one  of  the  islands 
in  front  of  it.  It  is,  as  described  by  Weddel,  the  first 
Englishman  who  approached  it,  "  a  goodly  inlet,''  flanked 
on  each  side  by  mountains  and  fortresses.  The  latter  ap- 
pear formidable,  but,  owing  to  an  entire  want,  on  the  part 
of  the  Chinese,  of  a  knowledge  of  gunnery,  and  to  other 
causes,  they  are  without  any  real  efficiency.  They  have 
been  repeatedly  passed  without  difficulty  by  English 
men-of-war. 


XXX.     Picture  of  a  Marriage  Procession, 

Opposite  the  two  pictures  just  described,  is  another 
large  painting,  representing  a  wedding  procession.  The 
bride  is  carried  in  a  gaudy  chair,  adorned  with  flowers, 
and  preceded  by  a  lengthened  train  of  attendants,  clad  in 
garments  of  various  colours.  There  are  not  less  than  a  do- 
zen sedan  chairs  in  the  procession,  filled  with  presents  to 
the  bride.  These  constitute  her  whole  marriage  dowery. 
The  persons  composing  the  train  are  hired  for  the  occa- 
sion.   There  are  large  establishments  in  China,  provided 


79 

with  men,  chairs,  and  dresses,  to  be  hired  out  for^escorts 
of  this  kind.  The  dresses  and  sedans  range  through  all 
the  degrees  of  costliness  and  elegance.  Articles  of  this 
kind,  more  or  less  expensive,  and  a  more  or  less  numer- 
ous train  of  attendants,  are  employed,  according  to  the 
rank  and  wealth  of  the  parties  to  be  united.  Houqua,  the 
rich  Hong  merchant,  expended  over  1850,000  on  a  daugh- 
ter's wedding,  including  the  bridal  presents.  Live  geese 
are  always  among  the  presents,  and  they  are  carried  in 
the  procession,  being  considered,  apparently  without  any 
good  foundation,  patterns  of  concord  and  fidelity  in  the 
married  state.  The  beautiful  mandarin  duck,  already 
described,  would  be  a  fitter  emblem.  When  the  bride 
reaches  the  residence  of  her  lord,  she  is  lifted  by  matrons 
over  a  pan  of  charcoal, — a  usage  the  exact  import  of 
which  is  not  understood.  Various  ceremonies  follow, 
which  end  in  the  husband  unveiling  his  bride,  whom  he 
now  sees  for  the  first  time,  and  drinking  with  her  the 
cup  of  alliance. 

Marriages  are  promoted  by  every  consideration  that 
can  act  upon  the  human  mind.  The  national  maxim  is, 
that  "  there  are  three  great  acts  of  disregard  to  parents, 
and  to  die  without  progeny  is  the  chief."  The  barren- 
ness of  a  wife  is  therefore  regarded  as  a  great  calamity, 
and  is  one  of  the  seven  grounds  of  divorce  allowed  to  a 
Chinese  husband,  notwithstanding  there  would  seem  to  be 
an  all-sufficient  remedy  in  legal  concubinage.  The  six 
other  causes  of  separation  are,  adultery,  talkativeness, 
thieving,  ill  temper,  and  inveterate  infirmities. 

A  lucky  day  for  the  marriage  rites  is  considered  im- 
portant. On  this  point,  recourse  is  had  to  astrology,  and 
the  horoscopes  of  the  parties  are  diligently  compared. 
Sometimes  the  ceremony  is  postponed  for  months,  be- 
cause the  stars  are  not  propitious.     These  superstitious 


96 

cfwntry.  In  the  Ii^hi^e^rni^  of  Kttri|^fRs^  Clyl«iiiiis$tr% 
«sk$  A^m^^mmxn  when  Ihdr  dniighlor  sKull  wed?  Ho 
replies^  **  When  thc>  ti>rh  of  «  KWrtwiMitt^  moon  sImII  wrrtvo*'^ 
llir  $|mns  in  Chinsn  is  gifnewlW  prrfcrwHl  ftir  woddinj) 
when  lh«  piMicli^tre«  k;  in  b)os:$ioni«  This  eironttstiAeft  is 
;iilhiddl  to  in  n  liuk  poem  in  Iho  ''*  Book  of  Od<^' ^  thus 
dr^^nllT  pijivophTO^rd  hy  thc^  oooomplishcd  Sir  WilfiuR 
Jontts; — 


I. 


XXXL     lU^ikorFnimHng^mil^ 


Of  Ihcsie^  tdioQi^  verjr  nnmetoos,  our  notke  musl  ho 
CNureoty  «nd  sowhoI.  We  taiko  the  IbHowing  remwiel' 
llrom  »  \rxy  ^ood  sitti^h  of  the  CoUootiott^  pahlbhed  ui 
SffliwMi'^  Jowmil:  '^'^  Many  of  them^^  the  writer  saiips, 
"^mte  ptesseftted  h^i^  disdi^goisiied  men  of  Oiimi^  md 
mMiy  xcere  piunted  hj  the  most  eddmittd  9urti$ts  of  the 
prindpul  inbnd  eltie%  inehidins  dm  copitd«  They  f^ 
pr(t$««i  in  the  trst  pbci^  til  Aose  seeftes  wlueh  aure  chat- 
imetetistie  of  Cliincse  Bl^  in  its  detnil^  inchidins  n  series 
showini^  eTery  process  of  the  teai  mamnfiietnre^  from  the 
plnntins  to  die  pMliins  np.    The  poitraats  will  «sto«sli 


SI 

those  who  have  seen  only  the  paltry  daubs  usually  brought 
as  specimens  of  the  art  in  China.  There  is  one  of  the  high 
priests  in  the  Honan  temple,  and  others  of  distinguished 
men  well  known  in  Canton,  worked  with  the  minuteness 
of  miniature  painting.  This  department  comprises  also 
a  variety  of  paintings  on  glass,  an  art  much  practised  by 
the  natives  ;  pictures  of  all  the  boats  peculiar  to  the 
country ;  of  rooms,  their  domestic  arrangements,  of  all 
the  costumes  of  people  of  rank  ;  of  furniture,  lanterns, 
and,  in  short,  every  variety  of  Chinese  life,  from  the  most 
degraded  class  to  the  Emperor.'^ 

The  fine  arts  in  China  are  undoubtedly  far  from  having 
reached  the  perfection  that  belongs  to  them  in  the  en- 
lightened nations  of  Christendom  ;  yet  an  examination  of 
the  paintings  collected  by  Mr.  Dunn,  will  satisfy  every 
candid  mind  that  great  injustice  has  been  done  to  Chinese 
artists,  in  the  notions  hitherto  entertained  respecting 
their  want  of  ability  and  skill.  They  paint  insects,  birds, 
fishes,  fruits,  flowers,  and  the  like,  with  great  correct- 
ness and  beauty ;  and  the  brilliancy  and  variety  of  their 
colours  cannot  be  surpassed.  They  group  with  conside- 
rable taste  and  effect;  and  their  perspective,  a  depart- 
ment of  the  art  in  which  they  have  been  thought  totally 
deficient,  is  often  very  good.  Let  the  views  already  de- 
scribed, and  a  large  and  beautiful  landscape  painting  over 
one  of  the  cases  on  the  south  side  of  the  saloon,  attest 
the  truth  of  these  statements.  Shading  they  do  not  well 
understand,  and  they  positively  object  to  the  introduction 
of  shadows  in  pictures.  Barrow,  as  quoted  by  Davis, 
says,  that  "  when  several  portraits  by  the  best  European 
artists,  intended  as  presents  for  the  Emperor,  were  ex- 
posed to  view,  the  mandarins,  observing  the  variety  of 
tints  occasioned  by  the  light  and  shade,  asked  whether 
the  originals  had  the  two  sides  of  different  colours.  They 

11 


82 

considered  the  shadow  of  the  nose  as  a  great  imperfection 
in  the  figure,  and  some  supposed  it  to  have  been  placed 
there  by  accident.'^ 

There  is  one  picture  in  the  Collection,  which,  on  account 
of  the  interest  of  the  subject,  and  the  insight  it  affords  into 
the  administration  of  public  justice  in  China,  deserves  spe- 
cial notice.  Its  place  is  on  the  wall  between  the  window 
and  the  silk  mercer's  shop.  Seldom  does  it  fall  to  the 
lot  of  foreigners  residing  in  Canton,  to  witness  a  more 
painfully  interesting  scene  than  the  one  portrayed  in 
the  above  painting.  It  represents  a  court  sitting  in  the 
Consoo  House,  at  the  head  of  China  Street,  near  the  fo- 
reign Factories,  in  1829,  for  a  final  decision  on  a  charge 
of  piracy  committed  by  the  crew  of  a  Chinese  junk,  on 
a  French  captain  and  sailors,  at  a  short  distance  from 
Macao. 

The  French  ship  Navigatre,  put  into  Cochin-China 
in  distress.  Having  disposed  of  her  to  the  Government, 
the  captain,  with  his  crew,  took  passage  for  Macao,  in  a 
Chinese  junk,  belonging  to  the  province  of  Fokien.  Part 
of  their  valuables  consisted  of  about  JS100,000  in  specie. 
Four  €hina  passengers  bound  for  Macao,  and  one  for 
Fokien,  were  also  on  board.  This  last  apprised  the 
Frenchmen,  in  the  best  way  he  could,  that  the  crew  of 
the  junk  had  entered  into  a  conspiracy  to  take  their 
lives,  and  seize  their  treasure.  He  urged  that  an  armed 
watch  should  be  kept.  On  making  the  Ladrone  Islands, 
the  four  Macao  passengers  left  the  junk.  Here  the 
Frenchmen  believed  themselves  out  of  danger,  and,  ex- 
hausted by  sickness  and  long  watching,  yielded  to  a  fatal 
repose.  They  were  all  massacred  but  one,  a  youth  of 
about  nineteen  years  of  age,  who  escaped  by  leaping  into 
the  sea,  after  receiving  several  wounds.  A  fishing  boat 
picked  him  up,  and  landed  him  at  Macao,  where  infor- 


83 

Kiatioii  was  given  to  the  officers  of  government,  and  the 
crew  of  the  junk,  with  their  ill-gotten  gains,  were  seized 
on  arriving  at  their  port  of  destination  in  Fokien.  Hav- 
ing been  found  guilty  by  the  court  in  their  own  district, 
they  were  sent  down  to  Canton  by  order  of  the  Emperor, 
to  the  Unchat-see  (criminal  judge,)  to  be  confronted  with 
the  young  French  sailoi*.  This  trial  is  represented  in 
the  painting.  The  prisoners  were  taken  out  of  their 
cages,  as  seen  in  the  foreground.  The  Frenchman  re- 
cognised seventeen  out  of  the  twenty-four,  but  when 
the  passenger  who  had  been  his  friend  was  brought  in, 
the  two  eagerly  embraced  each  other,  which  scene  is 
also  portrayed  in  the  painting.  An  explanation  of  this 
extraordinary  act  was  made  to  the  judge,  and  the  man 
forthwith  set  at  liberty.  A  purse  was  made  up  for  him 
by  the  Chinese  and  foreigners,  and  he  was  soon  on  his 
way  homeward.  The  seventeen  were  decapitated  in  a 
few^  days,  in  the  presence  of  the  foreigners  ;  the  captain 
was  put  to  a  "  lingering  death,'^  the  punishment  of  trai- 
tors; and  the  stolen  treasures  were  restored. 


XXXII.      Tlte  two  inner  Rows  of  Cases, 

In  our  introductory  notices,  we  stated  that  many  arti- 
cles were  held  in  reserve  for  want  of  space  for  displaying 
them.  During  the  composition  of  these  pages,  changes 
have  been  going  on  continually;  and  now  having  com- 
pleted the  circuit  of  the  hall,  we  find  two  new  rows  of 
cases  constructed  within  the  others,  and  several  of  them 
already  filled.  The  first  two  contain  specimens  of  manu- 
factures in  silk,  linen,  and  cotton  fabrics.  One,  near  the 
other  extremity  of  the  saloon,  on  the  right,  is  filled  with 
complete  sets  of  cabinetmakers  and   carpenter's   tools. 


84 

Next  to  this,  on  the  same  side,  is  a  case  containing  some 
beautiful  specimens  of  castings,  in  pots  and  kettles  of 
different  sizes,  together  with  a  set  of  implements  for 
working  in  iron. 

But  of  these  newly  constructed  cases,  that  which  con- 
tains the  greatest  variety  of  novel  articles  is  on  the  north 
side  of  the  saloon,  and  nearly  midway  between  its  two 
ends.  Here  we  have  two  bamboo  shirts,  with  meshes 
resembling  those  of  a  very  fine  fishing  net,  and  worn  in 
summer  to  protect  the  skin  from  the  cotton  or  silk  with 
which  it  would  otherwise  be  in  contact ;  a  refinement  of 
luxury,  in  which  we  may  presume  the  multitude  do  not 
indulge.  There  are  also,  in  this  case,  two  very  elegant 
circular  fans,  one  of  which  is  made  partly  of  bird's  fea- 
thers, of  gay  plumage;  a  white  silken  scarf  adorned  with 
rich  embroidery;  a  ring-shaped  flat  iron,  containing  a 
furnace  within  itself,  with  a  handle  projecting  from  the 
side  ;  embroidered  knee  cushions  ;  elegant  pouches  of 
various  descriptions  ;  and  tiny  books,  used  as  a  kind  of 
amulet. 


XXXIII.     General  Remarks  on   the   Government  and 
People  of  China, 

The  Chinese  government  is,  nominally,  at  least,  patri- 
archal. The  authority  of  a  parent  over  his  children  is 
the  type  of  the  imperial  rule.  The  Emperor  claims  to 
be  the  father  of  his  subjects.  As  such,  he  exercises  su- 
preme, absolute,  unchecked  power,  over  more  than  one- 
third  of  the  human  race.  He  has  but  to  sign  the  decree, 
and  any  one  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  human 
beings  is  instantly  deprived  of  rank,  possessions,  liberty, 
or  life  itself.    This  is  a  stupendous  system,  a  phenomenon 


85 

unmatched  in  the  annals  of  time,  and  worthy  to  engage 
the  profound  attention  of  statesmen  and  philosophers. 
The  subjects  of  the  Macedonian  were  but  as  a  handful 
compared  with  the  teeming  millions  of  Eastern  Asia ;  the 
Roman  Empire,  when  at  its  widest  extent,  numbered  not 
more  than  one-third  of  the  present  population  of  China ; 
and  the  throne  of  the  Caesars  was,  in  the  power  it  con- 
ferred upon  its  occupant,  but  as  a  child's  elevation  in 
comparison  with  that  on  which  the  Tartar  sits.  We  can 
but  glance  at  a  few  of  the  details  of  this  system,  and  the 
causes  which  have  given  it  stability. 

At  the  head  of  the  system  stands,  of  course,  the  Empe- 
ror. His  titles  are,  the  "  Son  of  Heaven,"  and  the  "  Ten 
Thousand  Years."  Ubiquity  is  considered  as  among  his 
attributes ;  temples  are  erected  to  him  in  every  part  of 
the  Empire ;  and  he  is  worshipped  as  a  god.  Yet  he 
sometimes  styles  himself  '^  the  imperfect  man,"  and  his 
ordinary  dress  is  far  from  splendid.  While  the  grand 
mandarins  that  compose  his  court,  glitter  in  gold  and 
diamonds,  he  appears  in  a  plain  and  simple  garb.  Never- 
theless, no  means  are  omitted  to  keep  up  the  prestige  of 
his  majesty.  The  outer  gate  of  the  imperial  palace  can- 
not be  passed  by  any  person  whatsoever,  in  a  carriage  or 
on  horseback.  There  is  a  road  between  Peking  and  the 
Emperor's  summer  residence  in  Tartary,  wide,  smooth, 
level,  and  always  cleanly  swept,  on  which  no  one  but 
himself  is  permitted  to  travel.  At  the  palace,  a  paved 
walk  leads  to  the  principal  hall  of  audience,  which  is 
never  pressed  but  by  imperial  feet.  Despatches  from  the 
Emperor  are  received  in  the  provinces  with  prostrations 
and  the  burning  of  incense.  The  succession  is  at  the 
absolute  disposal  of  the  Emperor.  Instances  have  oc- 
curred, though  they  arc  rare,  in  which  persons  not  con- 


86 

nected  with  the  imperial  family  have  been  named.     The 
immediate  assistants  of  the  Emperor  are — 

I.  The  Nuy-ko.  This  is  the  great  council  of  state. 
The  chief  counsellors  are  four,  two  Tartars  and  two  Chi- 
nese. Besides  these,  there  are  several  others,  of  inferior 
rank^  who,  in  conjunction  with  them,  constitute  the  coun- 
cil. Almost  all  the  members  of  the  Nuyko  are  selected 
from  the  imperial  college  of  the  Hanlin. 

II.  The  Keun-ky-ta-chin.  This  is  a  body  of  privy 
councillors. 

III.  The  Lew- poo,  or  six  boards  for  conducting  the 
details  of  public  business.  They  are,  1.  The  Board  of 
Appointments,  having  cognizance  of  the  conduct  of  all 
civil  officers ;  2.  The  Board  of  Revenue,  whose  duties 
extend  to  all  fiscal  matters ;  3.  The  Board  of  Rites  and 
Ceremonies,  which  keeps  watch  and  ward  over  the  pub- 
lic morals,  and  is  the  only  setter  of  the  fashions  in  China  ; 
4.  The  Military  Board,  charged  with  the  affairs  of  the 
army  and  navy;  5.  The  Supreme  Court  of  Criminal  Ju- 
risdiction ;  and  6.  The  Board  of  Public  Works. 

IV.  The  Lyfan-yuen,  or  Office  for  Foreign  Affairs. 
Its  duties  embrace  all  the  external  relations  of  the  em- 
pire. The  members  of  the  Lyfan-yuen  are  always  Mon- 
gol or  Manchow  Tartars. 

V.  The  Too-cha-yuen.  This  is  a  body  of  censors, 
forty  or  fifty  in  number.  They  are  sent  into  different 
parts  of  the  empire  as  imperial  inspectors,  which  means 
spies.  By  an  ancient  custom,  they  are  at  liberty  to  give 
any  advice  to  their  master  without  the  hazard  of  losing 
their  life  ;  but  blunt  honesty  is  not  often  relished  by  the 
great  from  any  quarter,  and  unpalatable  remonstrances 
have  not  seldom  cost  their  authors  the  favour  in  which 
they  had  before  basked. 

The   provinces  are  governed   each  by  a  chief  magis- 


87 

trate,  entitled  foo-yuen,  or  two  together  are  under  the 
government  of  a  tsoong-to^  who  has  foo-yuens  under  him. 
Canton  and  Kuang-sy  are  subject  to  a  tsoong-to^  called  by 
Europeans,  viceroy  of  Canton.  The  governors  of  the 
provinces  have,  subordinate  to  them,  an  army  of  civil 
magistrates  amounting  to  fourteen  thousand.  No  indivi- 
dual is  permitted  to  hold  office  in  the  province  where  he 
was  born ;  and  public  functionaries  interchange  places 
periodically,  to  prevent  the  formation  of  too  intimate 
connexions  with  the  people  under  their  government.  A 
quarterly  publication  is  made,  by  authority,  of  the  name, 
birth-place,  &c.  of  every  official  person  in  the  Empire ; 
and  once  in  three  years,  a  report  is  sent  up  to  the  board 
of  official  appointments,  by  the  foo-yuen  of  each  pro- 
vince, containing  the  names  of  all  the  officers  in  his 
government,  and  a  full  statement  concerning  their  con- 
duct and  character,  received  from  the  immediate  supe- 
riors of  each.  Every  officer  is  held  to  a  strict  responsi- 
bility for  the  good  behaviour  and  fidelity  of  all  who  are 
under  him.  Letters  are  held  in  higher  esteem  than  arms, 
and  the  civil  officers  of  course  outrank  the  military.  This 
may  be  set  down  to  their  credit,  as  it  is  certainly  a  mark 
of  social  advancement. 

No  man  in  China  inherits  office,  nor  does  hereditary 
rank  enjoy  much  consideration  or  influence.  This  fact 
is  placed  in  a  strong  light  by  the  following  anecdote,  re- 
lated by  Sir  George  Staunton,  secretary  to  Lord  Macart- 
ney's embassy.  Among  the  presents  for  the  Emperor 
was  a  volume  of  portraits  of  the  British  nobility.  That 
the  inspection  of  them  might  be  more  satisfactory  to  his 
Majesty,  a  mandarin  was  employed  to  mark,  in  Chinese 
characters,  on  the  margin,  the  names  and  rank  of  the 
persons  represented.  When  he  came  to  the  print  of  an 
English  duke,  from  a  portrait  taken  in  childhood,  and 


88 

was  told  that  the  original  was  a  ta-zhin,  or  great  man,  of 
very  high  rank,  he  had  so  little  conception  of  a  child's 
being  qualified,  by  hereditary  right,  to  be  possessed  of 
such  a  dignity,  that  he  gave  a  look  of  surprise,  and  lay- 
ing down  his  pencil,  exclaimed,  that  he  could  not  venture 
to  describe  him  in  that  manner,  for  the  Emperor  knew 
very  well  how  to  distinguish  a  great  man  from  a  boy. 

The  penal  code  of  China  is  an  interesting  subject.  If 
we  go  upon  the  principle  of  judging  the  tree  by  its  fruits, 
and  look  at  this  code  in  connexion  with  its  results,  we 
shall  be  compelled  to  allow  that  it  is  wisely  framed  and 
efficiently  administered.  It  is  lucidly  arranged  under  six 
principal  divisions,  corresponding  to  the  six  boards  above 
described.  It  is  not  needful  to  enumerate  the  several 
heads  of  chapters  embraced  in  these  divisions.  The  prin- 
cipal defects  of  the  code,  in  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Davis, 
are,  1.  A  constant  meddling  with  those  relative  duties 
which  had  better  be  left  to  other  sanctions  than  positive 
laws ;  2.  A  minute  attention  to  trifles,  contrary  to  the 
European  maxim,  de  minimis  non  curat  lex  ;  and  3.  An 
occasional  indulgence  in  those  vague  generalities,  by 
which  the  benefits  of  a  written  code  are  in  a  great  mea- 
sure annulled.  A  prominent  feature  of  the  Chinese  cri- 
minal law  is  the  marked  and  unrelenting  severity  with 
which  it  punishes  treason,  not  only  in  the  person  of  the 
traitor,  but  in  those  of  his  unoffending  offspring,  even  the 
suckling  at  the  breast.  The  whole  are  cut  off  at  one  fell 
blow.  It  is  impossible  to  read  the  recital  of  some  of  these 
punishments,  so  abhorrent  to  humanity  and  justice,  with- 
out a  sentiment  of  indignation  as  well  as  of  sympathy. 

^^The  most  common  instrument  of  punishment  is  the 
bamboo,  whose  dimensions  are  exactly  defined.  The 
number  of  blows,  attached  gradatim  with  such  preci- 
sion to  every  individual  offence,  answers  the  purpose  of 


89 

a  scale  or  measurement  of  the  degrees  of  crime  ;  and  this 
punishment  being  often  commutable  for  fine  or  otherwise, 
the  apparent  quantity  of  flagellation  is  of  course  greater 
than  the  real.  The  next  punishment  is  the  kea^  or  can- 
gue,  which  has  been  called  the  wooden  collar,  being  a 
species  of  walking  pillory,  in  which  the  prisoner  is  pa- 
raded, with  his  offence  inscribed.  It  is  sometimes  worn 
for  a  month  together,  and  as  the  hand  cannot  be  put  to 
the  mouth,  the  wearer  must  be  fed  by  others.'^*  After 
this  comes  banishment  to  some  place  in  China,  and  then 
exile  beyond  the  Chinese  frontier,  either  for  a  term  of 
years  or  for  life.  There  are  three  kinds  of  capital  punish* 
ment, — strangulation,  decollation,  and,  for  treason,  ling- 
chy,  "  ?L  disgraceful  and  lingering  death,''  styled  by 
Europeans,  cutting  into  ten  thousand  pieces,  A  debtor 
who  does  not  ^^pay  up,"  after  the  expiration  of  a  certain 
specified  period,  becomes  liable  to  the  bamboo. 

We  will  close  this  very  imperfect  notice  of  the  Chinese 
criminal  law,  with  the  following  testimony  of  an  able 
writer  in  the  Edinburgh  Review.  He  says : — "  The 
most  remarkable  thing  in  this  code  is  its  great  reasona- 
bleness, clearness,  and  consistency ;  the  business-like 
brevity  and  directness  of  the  various  provisions,  and  the 
plainness  and  moderation  of  the  language  in  which  they 
are  expressed.  It  is  a  clear,  concise,  and  distinct  series 
of  enactments,  savouring  throughout  of  practical  judg- 
ment and  European  good  sense.  When  we  turn  from  the 
ravings  of  the  Zendavesta,  or  the  Puranas,  to  the  tone  of 
sense  and  of  business  of  this  Chinese  collection,  we  seem 
to  be  passing  from  darkness  to  light — from  the  drivellings 
of  dotage  to  the  exercise  of  an  improved  understanding: 
and,  redundant  and  minute  as  these  laws  are  in  many 


Davis. 
12 


90 

particulars^  we  scarcely  know  any  European  code  that  is 
at  once  so  copious  and  so  consistent^  or  that  is  nearly  so 
free  from  intricacy,  bigotry  and  fiction.'^ 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  Chinese  claim  to  have ' 
authentic  annals  extending  back  to  a  date  anterior  to  the 
period  usually  assigned  to  the  creation  of  the  world. 
This,  however,  is  an  erroneous  supposition.  It  is  true 
that  they  have  a  fabulous  history  which  pretends  to  relate 
events  occurring  we  know  not  how  many  thousand  ages 
ago ;  but  intelligent  Chinese  scholars  consider  and  admit 
this  to  be  a  pure  invention.  They  claim,  indeed,  a  high 
antiquity,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  claim  is 
well  founded.  It  is  probable,  that  Alexander  might  have 
spared  his  tears,  and  saved  himself  the  perpetration  of 
an  egregious  folly,  had  he  known  that,  far  beyond  the 
Ganges,  there  lay  an  empire  vaster  and  mightier  than  any 
with  whose  power  he  had  grappled  ; — ^an  empire  flourish- 
ing in  the  arts  of  civilized  life,  and  destined  to  survive,  in 
^  a  green  and  vigorous  old  age,  long  after  the  last  vestiges 
of  his  ill-gotten  power  had  disappeared  from  the  earth. 

A  full  development  of  the  causes  which  have  given 
strength  and  stability  to  the  Chinese  empire,  which  have 
matured  and  perpetuated  its  institutions,  would  be  an  in- 
teresting and  instructive  labour.  We  cannot  pretend  to 
attempt  it,  but  may,  in  passing,  throw  out  a  few  hints  upon 
the  subject.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  that  the  sea  and  the 
mountain  barriers  by  which  China  is  surrounded,  the  un- 
warlike  character  of  her  neighbours,  her  almost  total 
isolation  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  her  vigilant  po- 
lice, the  elegibility  of  all  classes  to  the  trusts  and  digni- 
ties of  office,  and  the  rigid  system  of  responsibility  en- 
forced upon  her  officers,  have  all  had  their  share  in  the 
result.  But  these  causes  are  insufficient  to  explain  the 
phenomenon.  The  most  powerful  agent,  beyond  all  ques- 


91 

tion,  is  the  education  of  her  people.     We  speak  here  not 
so  much  of  the  education  received  in  schools,  as  of  that 
which  consists  in  an  early,  constant,  vigorous,  and  effi- 
cient  training  of  the   disposition,  manners,  judgment, 
and  habits  both  of  thought  and  conduct.     This  most  effi- 
cient department  of  education  is  ahnost  wholly  overlook- 
ed and  neglected  by  us ;  but  it  seems  to  be  well  under- 
stood and  faithfully  attended  to  by  the  Chinese.     With 
us,  instruction  is  the  chief  part  of  education,  with  them 
training  ;  let  the  wise  judge  between  the  wisdom  of  the 
two  methods.     The  sentiments  held  to  be  appropriate  to 
man  in  society,  are  imbibed  with  the  milk  of  infancy, 
and  iterated  and  reiterated  through  the  whole  of  subse- 
quent life  ;  the  manners  considered  becoming  in  adults, 
are  sedulously  imparted  in  childhood  ;  the  habits  regard- 
ed as  conducive  to  individual  advancement,  social  happi- 
ness, and  national  repose  and  prosperity,  are  cultivated 
with   the   utmost  diligence  ;    and,  in  short,  the    whole 
channel  of  thought  and   feeling  for  each  generation,  is  * 
scooped   out  by  that  which  preceded  it,  and  the  stream 
always  fills  but  rarely  overflows  its  embankments.     The 
greatest  pains  are  taken  to  acquaint  the  people  with  their 
personal  and  political  duties,  wherein  they  again  set  us 
an   example  worthy  of  imitation.     "  Our  rights,"  is  a 
phrase  in  every  body's  mouth,  but  our  duties  engage  but 
a  comparatively  small  share  of  our  thoughts.     Volumes 
are  written  on  the  former  where  pages  are  on  the  latter. 
The  sixteen  discourses  of  the  Emperor  Yong-tching,  on 
the  sixteen  sacred  institutes  of  Kang-hy,  the  most  accom- 
plished and   virtuous  of   Chinese   sovereigns,  are    read 
twice  every  moon  to  the  whole  empire.     We  subjoin  the 
texts  of  these  discourses  as  curious,  and  at  the  same  time 
highly  illustrative  of  Chinese  character. 

1.   ^^Be  strenuous  in  filial  piety' and  fraternal  respect, 


92 

that  you  may  thus  duly  perform  the  social  duties. — 2.  Be 
firmly  attached  to  your  kindred  and  parentage,  that  your 
union  and  concord  may  be  conspicuous. — 3.  Agree  with 
your  countrymen  and  neigbours,  in  order  that  disputes 
and  litigation  may  be  prevented. — 4.  Attend  to  your 
farms  and  mulberry  trees,  that  you  may  have  sufficient 
food  and  clothing. — 5.  Observe  moderation  and  econo- 
my, that  your  property  may  not  be  wasted. — 6.  Extend 
your  schools  of  instruction,  that  learning  may  be  duly 
cultivated. — 7.  Reject  all  false  doctrines,  in  order  that 
you  may  duly  honour  true  learning, — 8.  Declare  the 
laws  and  their  penalties,  for  a  warning  to  the  foolish  and 
ignorant. — 9.  Let  humility  and  propriety  of  behaviour 
be  duly  manifested,  for  the  preservation  of  good  habits 
and  laudable  customs. — 10.  Attend  each  to  your  proper 
employments,  that  the  people  may  be  fixed  in  their  pur- 
poses.— 11.  Attend  to  the  education  of  youth,  in  order 
to  guard  them  from  doing  evil. — 12.  Abstain  from  ftdse 
accusing,  that  the  good  and  honest  may  be  in  safety. — 
13.  Dissuade  from  the  concealment  of  deserters,  that 
others  be  not  involved  in  their  guilt. — 14.  Duly  pay  your 
taxes  and  customs,  to  spare  the  necessity  of  enforcing 
them. — 15.  Let  the  tithings  and  hundreds  unite,  for  the 
suppression  of  thieves  and  robbers. — 16.  Reconcile  ani- 
mosities, that  your  lives  be  not  lightly  hazarded." 

The  discourses  founded  on  these  excellent  maxims  are 
clear,  direct,  and  simple  in  their  style,  and  are  charac- 
terized by  nervous  thought  and  practical  sense.  They 
might  be  taken  as  a  model  for  didactic  compositions. 
The  imperial  pen  deals  summarily  and  rather  cavalierly 
with  the  ministers  of  the  Budhist  and  Taou  sects.  We 
offer  a  few  specimens  from  the  ^^Book  of  Sacred  In- 
structions.'^    The  curious  will  find  them  interesting. 

^^This  filial  piety  is  a  doctrine  from  Heaven,  the  con- 


93 

summation  of  earthly  justice,  the  grand  principle  of  ac- 
tion among  mankind.  The  man  who  knows  not  piety  to 
parents,  can  surely  not  have  considered  the  affectionate 
hearts  of  parents  towards  their  children.  When  still 
infants  in  arms,  hungry,  they  could  not  feed  themselves ; 
cold,  they  could  not  clothe  themselves ;  but  they  had 
then  parents  who  watched  the  sounds  of  their  voice,  and 
studied  the  traits  of  their  countenance  ;  who  were  joyful 
when  they  smiled  ;  afflicted  when  they  wept;  who  fol- 
lowed them,  step  by  step,  when  they  moved  ;  who,  when 
they  were  sick  or  in  pain,  refused  food  and  sleep  on  their 
account.  Thus  were  they  nursed  and  educated  until 
they  grew  up  to  manhood." — ^^  Formerly,  in  the  family 
of  Chang-kung-ze,  nine  generations  lived  together  under 
the  same  roof.  In  the  family  of  Chang-she  of  Kiang-cheu 
seven  hundred  partook  of  the  same  daily  repast.  Thus 
ought  all  those  who  are  of  the  same  name  to  bear  in  re- 
membrance their  common  ancestry  and  parentage." — 
"  Economy  should,  therefore,  be  held  in  estimation.  A 
store  is  like  a  stream  of  water,  and  moderation  and  eco- 
nomy are  like  the  dams  which  confine  it.  If  the  course 
of  the  water  is  not  stopped  by  the  dam,  the  water  will 
be  constantly  running  out,  and  the  channel  at  length  will 
be  dry.  If  the  use  of  the  store  is  not  restricted  by  mo- 
deration and  economy,  it  will  be  consumed  without  stint, 
and  at  length  will  be  wholly  exhausted." — ^^  Wisdom 
should  precede,  and  letters  follow." — "  He  who  pretends 
to  profound  learning,  without  regarding  first  himself,  and 
his  own  duties ;  fame  indeed  he  may  acquire,  but  when 
he  is  examined,  he  will  be  found  to  possess  no  solidity." 
— "  These  wandering  and  mendicant  sectaries*  are  glad 

*  The  Taou  and  Budhist  priests. 


94 

to  disguise  their  views,  because  of  the  corruption  of 
their  practices.  Their  chief  pursuit  is  to  diffuse  false 
auguries,  and  omens  of  good  and  bad  fortune ;  and  they 
thus  make  a  livelihood  by  the  sale  of  their  idle  tales  and 
vain  predictions.  At  firsts  they  go  no  farther  than  to 
delude  the  people  out  of  their  money,  to  enrich  them- 
selves; but,  by  degrees,  they  lead  the  people  of  both 
sexes  to  meet  indecorously  together ;  and  burning  in- 
cense, they  initiate  them  into  their  sect. — Husbandmen 
and  artisans  desert  their  respective  callings,  and  flock 
after  these  vain  and  deceitful  talkers.'' 

Such,  then,  are  the  constitution,  laws,  and  education 
of  China.  The  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter,  the  grand 
results  secured,  are  a  stable  throne ;  a  country  enjoying 
an  extraordinary  degree  of  internal  quiet ;  a  population 
mild,  peaceful,  obedient,  cheerful,  and  industrious ;  and 
a  perpetuity  of  national  existence  unequalled  in  the 
world's  history. 

The  population  of  China  has  been  variously  estimated. 
Lord  Macartney  states  the  number  of  inhabitants  at 
333,000,000  ;  Dr.  Morrison's  son  at  360,000,000.  It  is 
well  known  that  the  learned  doctor's  own  estimate  was 
only  150,000,000,  but  he  stated  to  Mr.  Dunn,  two  years 
before  his  death,  that  he  was  then  convinced  that  the 
highest  number  ever  given  did  not  exceed  the  true  one. 
Wherever  the  truth  may  lie,  it  is  certain  that  every  part 
of  the  Empire  teems  with  life.  The  whole  policy  of  the 
government,  and  all  the  tendencies  of  the  Empire,  that 
can  at  all  bear  upon  the  matter,  are  in  favour  of  multipli- 
cation. Children  are  obliged  to  provide  for  the  old  age 
of  their  parents  ;  and  the  want  of  offspring,  who  may  pay 
the  customary  honours  at  the  family  tombs  and  in  the  hall 
of  ancestors,  is  considered  the  most  grievous  of  calamities. 
These  considerations  are  vigorous  stimulants  to  marriage, 


95 

and,  coming  in  aid  of  the  natural  instincts  of  the  race^ 
leave  fewer  bachelors  and  maids  in  China  than  in  any 
other  country  on  the  globe.  The  owners  of  slaves,  who 
do  not  procure  husbands  for  their  females,  are  liable  to 
prosecution.  Three  generations,  and  more,  often  live 
under  the  same  roof,  and  eat  at  the  same  board ;  a  system 
oi  clubbing,  which,  by  diminishing  the  expenses  of  living, 
tends  strongly  to  the  increase  of  population.  Again,  the 
laws  of  the  Empire,  and  all  the  prejudices  and  sentiments 
of  the  people,  are  against  emigration,  which  prevents  that 
drainage  by  means  of  which  other  civilized  and  trading 
nations  are  relieved  of  their  surplus  inhabitants. 

The  government  of  so  extensive  an  Empire,  swarming 
with  its  hundreds  of  millions,  must  be  an  expensive 
affair.  Du  Halde,  apparently,  however,  without  the 
means  of  exact  accuracy,  sets  down  the  total  expenses  of 
the  imperial  government  in  the  round  sum  of  200,000,000 
taels,  or  considerably  over  S250,000,000 ;  of  which  only 
40,000,000  reach  Peking,  the  balance  being  expended 
in  the  provinces.  The  sources  whence  these  moneys 
come  are,  a  land  tax,  for  which  the  land-owners,  and  not 
the  tenants,  are  responsible ;  a  tax  on  salt,  which  is  a 
government  monopoly ;  certain  revenues  derived  from 
tea  and  alum,  which  are  also  monopolies  to  a  limited  ex- 
tent ;  taxes  on  the  transit  of  goods  within  the  Empire ; 
and  customs  on  imports  and  exports.  The  government 
at  this  moment  appears  to  be  hard  pressed  for  means,  and 
the  difficulty  of  fixing  upon  modes  of  increasing  the  reve- 
nue, is  a  pretty  clear  indication  that  there  are  practical 
checks  to  the  exercise  of  imperial  authority,  which  it  is 
not  thought  prudent  to  disregard. 

In  whatever  else  a  difference  of  opinion  may  exist  re- 
specting the  Chinese,  all  must  agree  that  they  are  an 
original  people.     Their  marked  peculiarities  in  manners 


96 

and  customs,  the  frame-work  and  administration  of  their 
government,  the  idiosyncrasy  of  their  education  and  edu- 
cational institutions,  and  their  modes  and  implements  of 
agricultural  and  mechanical  labour, — all  proclaim  their 
originality  beyond  doubt  or  cavil.  Whoever  atten- 
tively examines  the  immense  Collection  of  Chinese  Curi- 
osities, of  which  we  have  given  but  a  comparatively 
meagre  sketch,  will  need  no  further  proof  of  the  inge- 
nuity of  the  Chinese  in  arts  and  manufactures.  In  several 
branches  of  labour,  both  agricultural  and  mechanical, 
which  evidently  originated  with  themselves,  they  have 
never  been  surpassed  ;  and  in  some,  they  are  unequalled 
by  any  other  people.  Without  any  claims  to  be  consi- 
dered a  scientific  nation,  the  various  contrivances  by 
which  they  economize  labour,  and  force  nature  to  be- 
come their  handmaid,  are  many  of  them  equally  simple, 
ingenious,  and  efficient. 

The  three  inventions  and  discoveries  which,  in  their 
results,  have  contributed  more  powerfully  than  all  other 
causes  combined  to  give  to  modern  society  its  peculiar 
form  and  fashioning,  and  which  are  destined,  instrument- 
ally,  to  carry  forward,  to  its  utmost  limit  of  perfection, 
the  civilization  of  the  human  race,  first  started  into  being 
in  the  Celestial  Empire ;  and,  whatever  mortification 
the  statement  may  inflict  upon  our  vanity,  there  is  much 
reason  to  suppose  that  those  who,  throughout  Christen- 
dom, are  generally  considered  as  the  inventors  of  the  art 
of  printing,  the  composition  of  gunpowder,  and  the  mag- 
netic needle  and  mariner's  compass,  received  their  first 
promptings,  and  had  their  genius  quickened  into  activity, 
by  information  flowing,  through  different  channels,  from 
the  springs  of  Eastern  Asia. 


97 


XXXIV.     Our  Trade  with  China. 

The  ancients  may  be  said  to  have  had  no  knowledge  of 
China ;  for,  though  a  few  scattered  gleams  appear  to  have 
reached  them  from  that  remote  region,  and  one  or  two 
feeble  efforts  were  made  to  obtain  information  concerning 
its  inhabitants,  they  were  not  sufficient  to  produce  any 
practical  results.  Yet,  when  Rome  was  still  an  infant, 
and  the  Grecian  philosophy  among  the  things  to  be, 
China  had  produced  a  sage,  second  only,  in  the  long  ca- 
talogue of  heathen  philosophers,  to  the  illustrious  and 
pure  minded  Socrates. 

Some  Nestorians  appear  to  have  introduced  Christian- 
ity into  China,  in  the  year  635,  but  the  world  is  indebted 
to  them  for  no  account  of  the  country,  either  in  its  phy- 
sical or  moral  aspects.  Two  Arabians,  in  the  ninth  cen- 
tury, visited  and  described  it  with  considerable  fulness. 
Much  contained  in  their  itineraries  is  applicable  to  the 
Chinese  of  the  present  day.  Commercial  relations  of 
some  importance  existed  then,  and  subsequently,  between 
China  and  Arabia.  The  Chinese  appear  to  have  sought, 
in  those  early  ages,  commercial  liaisons  with  several  of 
the  neighbouring  nations.  Carpini,  the  first  Catholic 
missionary  to  China,  was  sent  thither  in  1246.  He  was 
kindly  received,  and  sent  back  with  a  friendly  letter. 
Another  missionary  was  sent  in  1253,  who  met  with  a 
like  reception.  About  the  same  time,  the  two  Polos, 
Nicholas  and  Matthew,  reached  the  court  of  the  Mongol 
conqueror,  Coblai  Khan,  by  whom  they  were  most  gra- 
ciously received,  and,  at  their  departure,  invited  to  re- 
turn. They  accordingly,  in  1274,  went  back,  taking 
young  Marco  with  them.  This  young  man  became  a 
great  favourite  with  the  Khan,  and  resided  at  his  court 

13 


98 

seventeen  years.  He  was  the  first  European  who  gave 
the  world  an  account  of  China.  His  book  was  long  con- 
sidered little  more  than  a  pleasant  romance^  but  has  since 
been  proven  to  be  remarkably  faithful  and  accurate.  Its 
glowing  pictures  kindled  the  imagination  of  the  young 
Columbus,  and  fed  for  years  his  soaring  hopes.  The  pen 
of  the  noble  Venetian  did  much  to  nurse  that  lofty  en- 
thusiasm and  indomitable  perseverance,  which  at  length 
revealed  to  Europe,  not  indeed  a  new  passage  to  the  rich 
empire  of  Cathay,  but  a  new  world,  the  destined  refuge 
of  the  oppressed  of  every  clime,  designed  by  Providence 
to  become  the  theatre  of  new  and  sublime  experiments  in 
government,  where  human  nature,  relieved  from  the 
pressure  imposed  upon  it  by  the  abuses  of  ancient  dynas- 
ties, might  start  afresh,  with  unimpeded  and  elastic  step, 
on  the  race  of  improvement.  May  the  same  Almighty 
arm  that  shielded  from  a  thousand  dangers  the  leading 
actor  in  the  opening  scene  of  this  great  drama,  continue, 
through  coming  ages,  to  spread  the  aegis  of  its  protection 
over  these  broad  domains,  and  thus  cause  the  fulfilment 
of  the  prophecy  of  the  rapt  bard,  who  sang, 

"  Time's  noblest  empire  is  the  last." 

The  next  Catholic  missionary  to  China  was  Corviuo. 
He  went  to  Peking,  was  kindly  received  by  the  Emperor, 
built  a  church  by  imperial  permission,  and  baptized  se- 
veral thousand  converts.  The  missions  continued  to 
flourish,  and  the  missionaries  were  unmolested  in  their 
labours,  till  they  began  to  meddle  with  the  government, 
and  thus  became  politically  obnoxious. 

The  Portuguese  were  the  first  Europeans  who  traded 
to  China.  They  made  their  appearance  there  early  in 
the  sixteenth    century.      They  were   followed  by  the 


99 

Spaniards,  Dutch,  French,  &c.  The  Russians  have  an 
over- land  commerce  with  China,  but  are  not  allowed  to 
use  ships.  Their  dealings  are  restricted  to  the  frontier 
station  at  Kiackta,  in  Tartary.  The  earliest  attempt 
made  by  the  English  to  establish  a  trade  with  China,  was 
under  Elizabeth,  in  1396.  The  three  ships,  fitted  out 
for  this  purpose,  were  all  wrecked  on  their  outward  voy- 
age. About  forty  years  later,  a  somewhat  more  success- 
ful effort  was  made  by  a  fleet  under  the  command  of 
Capt.  Weddel ;  but  the  main  object  was  defeated  through 
the  jealousy  and  misrepresentations  of  the  ''  Portugals." 
Numerous  attempts  followed,  with  various  success;  but 
it  was  not  until  the  beginning  of  the  last  century  that 
permission  was  obtained  for  establishing  a  factory,  and 
the  trade  fixed  upon  a  permanent  basis. 

The  first  American  vessel  that  went  on  a  trading  voy- 
age to  China,  sailed  from  New  York,  in  1784;  but  so 
rapidly  did  the  trade,  thus  opened,  increase,  that  in 
1789,  there  were  fifteen  American  vessels  at  Canton  ;  a 
larger  number  than  from  any  other  country,  except  Great 
Britain.  During  twenty-eight  years,  betw^een  1805  and 
1833  inclusive,  the  whole  number  of  arrivals  of  Ameri- 
can vessels  at  the  port  of  Canton,  was  896,  giving  an  an- 
nual average  of  32.  The  total  estimated  measurement 
tonnage  of  these  vessels  was  500,000,  averaging,  there- 
fore, 17,857  per  annum.  The  entire  value  of  the  China 
trade,  during  the  abovementioned  period,  may  be  stated, 
in  round  numbers,  at  8150,000,000,  or  over  five  millions 
and  a  quarter  yearly.  Rather  more  than  a  hundred  mil- 
lions of  this  sum  have  been  paid  in  dollars  and  bills  of 
exchange.  The  bulk  of  the  trade  is  in  teas.  Of  these, 
twelve  kinds  are  known  to  the  foreign  commerce,  six  of 
black,  and  as  many  of  green.  A  great  variety  of  other 
articles  enter  into  the  trade,  but  they  form  a  compara- 


100 

lively  iiiiimportant  part  of  it.  Opium  is  the  chief  import 
into  China. 

Mr.  Bridgman  in  his  "  Description  of  Canton,''  esti- 
mates the  whole  number  of  vessels  employed,  in  the  China 
trade,  belong  to  all  the  different  nations,  at  140.  '^  But 
the  trade/'  he  adds,  "  has  always  been  carried  on  under 
circumstances  peculiar  to  itself.  It  is  secured  by  no 
commercial  treaties;  it  is  regulated  by  no  stipulated 
rules.  Mandates  and  edicts  not  a  few  there  are  on  re- 
cord ;  but  they  all  emanate  from  one  party :  still  the 
trade  lives,  and,  by  that  imperial  favour  which  extends 
to  the  '  four  seas,'  flourishes  and  enjoys  no  small  degree 
of  protection." 

The  foreign  commerce  with  China,  the  land  trade  car- 
ried on  by  the  Russians  alone  excepted,  is  restricted  to 
the  port  of  Canton,  and  is  conducted,  so  far  as  the  Chinese 
themselves  are  concerned,  by  a  body  of  licensed  traders, 
called  "Hong  merchants."  This  body  is  called  the 
Co-hong,  and  its  members  pay  roundly  for  the  privilege 
of  entering  it.  It  is  not  a  joint  stock  company ;  each 
Hong  enjoys  his  individual  gains,  yet  the  whole  Co-hong 
is  made  responsible  for  the  debts  of  every  member,  so  far 
as  they  consist  of  government  dues  and  obligations  to 
foreigners.  These  merchants  generally  amass  large  for- 
tunes, and  live  like  princes.  Houqua,  the  present  head 
of  the  Co-hong,  is  supposed  to  be  the  richest  commoner 
in  the  world.  The  wealth  of  Girard  was  small  in  com- 
parison with  that  which  he  possesses.  His  annual  ex- 
penses exceed  half  a  million  of  dollars.  There  are  very 
few  of  the  English  nobility,  rich  as  they  are,  who  have  a 
rent-roll  equal  to  this. 

The  factories,  as  the  warehouses  and  residences  of  the 
foreign  merchants  are  called,  are  built  on  a  plot  of  ground, 
in  part  reclaimed  from  the  river,  having  not  more  than 


101 

660  feet  of  frontage,  with  about  1000  feet  of  depth. 
Within  these  narrow  limits  is  conducted  the  whole  fo- 
reign trade  of  the  Celestial  Empire,  amounting  to  from 
S30, 000,00  to  ;S40,000,000  annually.  The  factories 
are  all  of  granite  or  brick,  and  present  a  handsome  and 
substantial  front.  The  ground  on  which  they  stand,  as 
also  most  of  the  buildings  themselves,  are  owned  by  the 
Hong-merchants. 

We  have  now  filled  the  space  which,  at  the  outset,  we 
proposed  in  our  own  mind  as  the  limit  of  our  labour.  We 
have  left  unsaid  much  that  we  would  gladly  have  intro- 
duced, in  further  illustration  of  the  peculiar  character- 
istics of  this  unique  and  interesting  race.  The  Chinese 
have  been,  repeatedly,  denounced  in  terms  savouring 
little  of  Christian  forbearance  and  charity.  In  their  bu- 
siness transactions,  they  have  been  presented  to  our  ima- 
gination as  a  nation  of  cheats ;  in  their  bearing  towards 
foreigners,  as  scornful  and  repulsive  to  the  last  degree  of 
supercilious  self-complacency;  and  in  their  own  social 
relations,  as  bereft  of  every  noble  sentiment  and  generous 
sympathy.  The  policy,  especially,  of  excluding  foreign 
traders  from  all  but  a  single  port  of  the  Empire,  has  been 
made  the  subject  of  the  most  acrimonious  denunciations. 
Far  be  it  from  us  to  enter  the  lists  in  defence  of  this 
policy  ;  nor  will  we  take  up  the  proffered  gauntlet  on  the 
general  question  of  Chinese  respectability  and  worth.  But 
truth  and  justice  are  suitors  at  the  bar,  and  demand  a  few 
words  in  explanation  of  one  or  two  points,  which  seem  not 
to  be  generally  understood.  We  have  already  seen  that 
this  people,  at  an  early  day,  sought  commercial  con- 
nexions with  various  of  the  neighbouring  nations ;  that 
the  Arabians  traded  freely  with  them,  wherever  they 
pleased ;  that  the  earliest  European  visiters  were  received 
with  marked  kindness,  and  treated  with  extraordinary 


102 

hospitality ;  and  that  the  Catholio  missionaries  had  free 
admission  to  all  parts,  and  made  and  haptized  converts 
without  let  or  hindrance.  These  zealous  and  ahle  secta- 
ries were  frequently  promoted  to  the  highest  dignities  of 
the  Empire.  They  founded  churches  at  their  will ;  and 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  Chinese  were,  nominally  at  least, 
through  their  exertions,  converted  to  the  Christian  faith. 
They  continued  in  favour  till  they  indiscreetly  began  to 
tamper  with  government  affairs,  and  attempted  to  under- 
mine the  ancient  institutions  of  the  realm.  No  restric- 
tions of  place  were  imposed  upon  those  western  merchants 
who  first  frequented  the  shores  of  China.  Every  port 
was  open  to  their  enterprise,  and  they  were  not  required 
to  confine  their  dealings  to  any  defined  spot  or  particular 
class  of  merchants.  But  the  burning  jealousies  and  fierce 
wranglings  perpetually  kept  up  between  the  subjects  of 
the  different  European  governments  that  sought  to  share 
in  the  rich  gains  of  the  China  trade,  roused  the  suspi- 
cions of  the  Chinese,  and  inspired  no  very  favourable 
opinion  of  their  character.  The  abominable  arts  to  which 
the  foreigners,  under  the  stings  of  a  base  cupidity,  resort- 
ed to  injure  each  other,  would  seem  almost  to  justify  the 
epithet  Fanquis^  or  "  foreign  demons,'^  applied  to  them 
by  the  natives.  These  circumstances,  together  with  va- 
rious positive  abuses  of  the  liberties  of  trade  at  first  freely 
granted,  caused  the  government  to  commence  at  length 
the  work  of  abridging  the  privileges  of  the  foreigners, 
and  the  result  appears  in  the  rigid  system  of  restrictions 
now  in  force. 

If  European  and  American  traders  may  fairly  blame 
the  illiberality  of  the  Chinese,  these  have  certainly  just 
ground  of  complaint  against  the  former,  in  the  illegal 
practices  to  which  their  cupidity  prompts  them.  Fifteen 
to  twenty  millions  worth  of  opium  is,  in  difiance  of  the 


103 

laws  and  known  wishes  of  the  government^  every  year 
emptied  upon  the  shores  of  China  by  Christian  merchants! 
Alas  for  missionary  effort,  so  long  as  the  grasping  avarice 
of  the  countries  whence  the  missionaries  go,  sets  at  nought 
every  Christian  obligation  before  the  very  eyes  of  the 
people,  whom  it  is  sought  to  convert !  MostMevoutly  do 
we  long  for  the  auspicious  day,  when  the  pure  religion, 
that  distilled  from  the  heart  and  was  embodied  in  the  life 
of  Jesus,  shall  shed  its  sacred  influences  on  every  human 
being ;  but,  in  our  inmost  soul,  we  believe  it  will  not 
come,  till  the  principles  of  that  religion  shall  take  a 
firmer  hold  upon  the  affections  of  those  who  profess  to 
receive  it,  and  rear  a  mightier  embankment  around  their 
sordid  and  stormy  passions.  When  the  missionary  shall 
find  an  auxiliary  in  the  stainless  life  of  every  compatriot 
who  visits  the  scene  of  his  labours  for  purposes  of  plea- 
sure or  of  gain, — when  he  can  point  not  only  to  the  pure 
maxims  and  sublime  doctrines  proclaimed  by  the  Founder 
of  his  faith,  but  to  the  clustering  graces  that  adorn  its 
professors, — then  indeed  will  the  day  dawn,  and  the  day- 
star  of  the  millenium  arise  upon  the  world! 


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